An Egyptian national, Ahmed Ramadan Mohamad Ebid, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by a London court for orchestrating a major human smuggling operation that trafficked thousands of migrants from North Africa into Europe.
Ebid, 42, played a central role in a criminal network that facilitated illegal crossings from Libya to Italy between October 2022 and June 2023. British authorities said the gang made over £12 million (about $16 million) during that period, charging migrants an average of £3,200 per person.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service, Ebid’s operation used social media platforms like Facebook to advertise the dangerous journeys. British investigators, including the National Crime Agency, secretly recorded Ebid instructing his associates to threaten passengers with violence if they were found carrying mobile phones onboard.
“Tell them guys anyone caught with a phone will be killed, thrown in the sea,” Ebid was overheard saying.
Seven crossings involving nearly 3,800 migrants were intercepted during the investigation. In court, Judge Adam Hiddleston condemned Ebid’s actions, describing the treatment of migrants as “horrifying.”
“You talked of them in terms of units, not as people,” the judge said. “They were simply a commodity to you.”
Ebid pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration last year and received his sentence on Tuesday at Southwark Crown Court.
