Man arrested in Portsmouth remanded on people-smuggling charge

Ali Omar Karim was after an investigation into a Kurdish organised crime group.
The National Crime Agency said the man was arrested in Portsmouth (PA)
PA Archive
Ben Mitchell14 March 2024

A 45-year-old man has been remanded in custody after being arrested on suspicion of smuggling hundreds of people by boats and lorries into the UK.

Ali Omar Karim was arrested in Portsmouth on Wednesday after an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) into a Kurdish organised crime group.

He appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court charged with people smuggling and money laundering and was remanded in custody to appear at the city’s crown court on April 15, according to the NCA.

A spokesman said: “A man arrested during an operation by the National Crime Agency in Portsmouth yesterday (March 13) has been charged with people smuggling and money laundering offences.

“Ali Omar Karim was last night remanded in custody to appear before Portsmouth magistrates.

“He was arrested as part of an NCA investigation into a Kurdish organised crime group involved in smuggling people to the UK in boats and HGVs.

“A second man arrested as part of the same investigation in Italy last month remains in custody as extradition proceedings continue.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in