11YRS FOR MIGRANT SMUGGLE GANG BOSS

'£260k profit' per boat crossing

- AMY SHARPE

A GANGSTER who ran a peoplesmuggling network from the UK that trafficked up to 10,000 migrants here across the Channel in small boats has been jailed.

Hewa Rahimpur was sentenced to 11 years and fined £70,000 yesterday.

The Iranian national was one of 20 gang members convicted in one of Europe's biggest people-smuggling trials after the court in Bruges, Belgium, heard they charged up to £6,000 to get to the UK.

Kiosk owner Rahimpur, who claimed asylum here after entering by lorry in 2016, was said to be a "key player". He is thought to have made profits of up to £260,000 per crossing, the National Crime Agency said.