A notorious migrant 'super smuggler' who threatened to execute rivals with headshots orchestrated small boat crossings worth an astonishing £50million annually while serving time in prison, French investigators have revealed.
The Crime Lord Behind the Crossings
Idriss Ghazi Kareem, a 45-year-old Iraqi Kurd, received a 15-year prison sentence last week from French judges for the manslaughter of seven Afghan migrants who drowned during an attempted crossing to Britain. The victims had each paid up to £1,200 for space in a flimsy dinghy operated by Ghazi Kareem's sophisticated 'family business'.
During his two-week trial at the Paris Correctional Court, which concluded on Tuesday, evidence emerged showing Ghazi Kareem became a multi-millionaire by coordinating approximately 500 small boat journeys each year. Each crossing generated around £100,000 in cash payments for his criminal enterprise.
Prosecutor Florian Pappo highlighted the profitability of people smuggling, stating: 'Drug trafficking doesn't compare to a successful night out for migrant smugglers.'
A Family Criminal Enterprise
Investigators believe the Ghazi Kareem clan continues to control principal smuggling routes from beaches around Calais and Dunkirk, with increasing use of firearms in their operations. The criminal syndicate represents a family affair involving three brothers.
Karzan Ghazi Kareem, the 39-year-old middle brother, was killed in a shoot-out with special forces police near Dijon last February while driving a BMW 5 Series containing UK-bound migrants.
Goran Ghazi Kareem, the 36-year-old youngest brother, remains at large and is suspected of taking orders from his imprisoned sibling while continuing to manage the family's lucrative trafficking business.
Xavier Delrieu, head of France's Office for Combating Illegal Migrant Trafficking, confirmed: 'We have three brothers immersed in the world of crime. One is in prison, one has been killed, and the third, who is overseas, must still be operating. We are talking about major traffickers – the organisers who control the whole market.'
Violent Tactics and Prison Operations
Before his 2023 arrest connected to the fatal small boat sinking, police recorded Ghazi Kareem warning: 'If I have to kill someone, I will.' In another intercepted conversation, he threatened a rival smuggler: 'You're playing games. Yesterday you sent a small boat from [my beach]. If your boat skippers come back, I'll put a bullet in their heads.'
The court heard how Ghazi Kareem implemented a 'three-step plan' to dominate France-England small boat routes, involving sabotaging rival vessels, assaulting skippers, and shooting competing smugglers. Between May and August 2023, he travelled to the Calais area at least five times and boasted about 'severely disfiguring' a competitor.
Despite being incarcerated, Ghazi Kareem continued directing operations using a bugged telephone line from his cell, prompting investigators to recommend his transfer to Vendin-le-Vieil prison near Lille, considered France's most secure facility.
Mr Delrieu explained their concerns: 'We recommended transferring him to Vendin-le-Vieil because he was still running his business behind bars.'
Deadly Consequences and Ongoing Crisis
The seven Afghan victims who drowned in August 2023 couldn't swim and, despite paying substantial fees to the Ghazi Kareem network, hadn't been provided with life jackets. They were among 68 people crammed into a small boat that disintegrated in the water.
One survivor testified that smugglers 'hit us and threatened to kill anyone who didn't want to get on board.'
Ghazi Kareem, claiming to be a former policeman who fled Kirkuk, Iraq, with his family to claim asylum, appeared in court handcuffed and under armed guard. The repeat offender had previously served 11 years for smuggling and had been banned from France following his 2020 release.
European police forces had established surveillance operations against him, initially bugging his £80,000 Audi Q7. Before his final arrest, Ghazi Kareem lived in Kiel, on Germany's northern Baltic coast, with his wife and two children, posing as a successful construction company owner.
Raids across Europe uncovered properties, luxury vehicles, bars, and shell companies linked to all three brothers and other family members. Like other defendants, Ghazi Kareem denied any connection to the 2023 drownings.
More than 32,000 people have crossed the English Channel on smuggler-organised small boats so far this year, highlighting the ongoing scale of the migration crisis confronting British authorities.
