A people smuggler who orchestrated the trafficking of Vietnamese nationals into the UK in refrigerated lorries has been sentenced to eight years in prison. Duc Quang Ta, 36, was behind the smuggling of 22 illegal migrants, while his co-defendant Sarfaraz Sardarzehi, 58, helped three others enter the UK illegally. The operation ran from August 18 to September 6, 2020.
Mastermind's luxurious lifestyle
Although registered as unemployed, Ta enjoyed a life of luxury funded by the smuggling operation. He frequented top London restaurants, shopped at Harrods, and flashed designer bags. The National Crime Agency investigation revealed he had contacts across several countries and managed all aspects of the trafficking, including arranging safehouses in Europe and onward travel into the UK.
Cash seizure and arrests
Ta was caught with £56,020 in cash, stashed in a carrier bag in a BMW stopped by police near Leatherhead, Surrey, on September 3, 2020. The money was intended to pay lorry drivers who transported the migrants from France. Police also seized a mobile phone containing incriminating images and messages about the plot. The next day, Sardarzehi was stopped near Birmingham with three Vietnamese males in his car, claiming he had picked them up off the street, though he knew they had just arrived illegally.
Sentences and previous convictions
Ta, born in Vietnam and unlawfully resident in the UK before settling in Reading, was convicted after a 16-day trial in February and sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court. Sardarzehi, an Iranian who obtained British nationality, received a two-year prison term suspended for 21 months. Three other gang members—Mai Van Nguyen, 36, Hai Xuan Le (aka Ho Sy Quoc), 28, and Habib Behsodi, 45—were convicted in 2022 and 2023 for the same conspiracy.
Prosecution statement
Thomas Short from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Duc Quang Ta and Sarfaraz Sardarzehi were part of an international people smuggling gang and their only goal was to make money without a care for the safety of others. The Vietnamese migrants they smuggled into the UK endured long journeys, some of them in the back of refrigerated lorries, which could have had dangerous consequences. UK law enforcement continues to work internationally to investigate and prosecute gangs who undermine our border security and will always seek to bring those who break the law to justice.”
