Security authorities in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region have arrested a 28-year-old Iraqi Kurdish man suspected of involvement in human trafficking. The man is believed to have played a major role in transporting illegal migrants to the United Kingdom in recent years.
The suspect, named Kardo Jaf, who is better known by the alias “Kardo Ranya,” was arrested by the Kurdistan Region Security Agency, and investigations into his activities are still ongoing.
According to a BBC undercover investigation, the network allegedly led by him is accused of transporting thousands of migrants to the UK using small boats across the English Channel. Reports indicate that he operated for years under false identities, which made it difficult for authorities to identify him and issue an international arrest warrant.
His real identity was revealed last week by BBC journalists Sue Mitchell and Rob Lawrie. Details of the case were also published in a BBC Radio 4 podcast.
In an interview with the BBC, Kardo Jaf denied allegations of human trafficking and claimed that he only provided advice to people on how to leave Iraq. He also insisted that he does not consider himself a criminal.
However, investigators believe he was one of the key figures in a Kurdish-Iraqi network that organized a large portion of illegal migrant journeys to Britain. It is said that the alias “Ranya” was taken from a town in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where some leaders of the network reportedly come from.
Dr. Muthanna Nader, a Kurdish member of the Iraqi Parliament, told the BBC that the network had “extensive power” and that much of the illegal migration to Britain was managed from the town of Ranya.
According to the BBC report, Kardo Jaf advertised his services on social media and offered various migration plans for transporting people from Afghanistan to Britain. These advertisements included attractive images of London and stories from seemingly satisfied customers.
Reports also suggest that he offered different routes and methods depending on migrants’ financial abilities. In one recorded conversation with a BBC translator posing as a customer, he allegedly proposed £160,000 to transfer a family to Britain through a special flight to Manchester.
In contrast, some poorer migrants told the BBC that they were placed onto overcrowded and dangerous boats late at night and forced to navigate the English Channel themselves without proper support.
The UK’s National Crime Agency also announced that a human trafficking suspect was arrested on May 13, although the agency did not officially release his name. Rob Jones, Director General of Operations at the agency, described the arrest as “an important step” in tackling organized human trafficking networks.
He emphasized that security agencies are currently pursuing more than 100 cases related to organized migrant smuggling, some of which involve networks operating in the Middle East and Africa.
Since 2020, crossing the English Channel in small boats has become one of the main routes for illegal migration into the UK. Most people arriving through this route apply for asylum, saying they cannot continue living in their home countries because of insecurity, violence, or threats.
According to published statistics, most migrants arriving in Britain through this route have been men and boys under the age of 40.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
