The mastermind behind a high-profile campaign that saw flags unfurled on the White Cliffs of Dover welcoming migrants has been jailed for his part in a bungled people smuggling plot.
Fazel Nab Ahmadi, 32, was sentenced to three years imprisonment at Canterbury Crown Court after being convicted of conspiring to assist unlawful immigration.
The court heard how Ahmadi, who had previously organised the hanging of pro-migrant banners on the famous cliffs, was at the heart of a failed scheme to bring individuals across the Channel.
His plan unravelled when an undercover police officer, posing as a would-be migrant, infiltrated the operation. Ahmadi was recorded negotiating a fee and making concrete plans for a crossing.
Despite his very public activism, Judge Simon Taylor KC stated that Ahmadi's actions were those of a 'determined and committed criminal' seeking financial gain, rather than a humanitarian. The judge emphasised that the offence struck at the heart of national border security.
The failed plot highlights the ongoing challenges UK authorities face in combating organised criminal networks exploiting vulnerable people desperate to reach Britain's shores.
