An Afghan gangster who trafficked children into the UK before they were raped and blackmailed will be extradited to Belgium to serve a 10 year jail sentence.
Saifur Ahmedzai, 23, was arrested by specialist National Crime Agency extradition officers in Hertfordshire last December.
It was part of a joint crackdown with Belgian authorities on a sick gang who would film themselves raping young migrants so they could use the footage to blackmail the victims.
Ahmedzai along with Ziarmal Khan, 24, and Zeeshan Bangash, 20, were finally caught in the UK and convicted alongside 21 other gang members for a total of 170 years, with sentences ranging from two to 18 years.
Ahmedzai was jailed for ten years in his absence in Antwerp last November while Khan and Bangash were each locked up for three years.
His gang was involved in organising the transport of thousands of migrants from Afghanistan through Iran, Turkey and the Balkans into Europe including France and Belgium.
Wearing a prison issue grey tracksuit, Ahmedzai appeared in the dock assisted by an Afghan interpreter speaking only to confirm his name and date of birth.
Saifur Ahmedzai, 23, was arrested on December 30 2024 at an address in Hemel Hempstead
Zeeshan Bangash, 20 was arrested at a New Kent Road address on 18 December
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Afghan people smugglers who trafficked thousands and raped and blackmailed children face extradition
District judge John Zani ordered he be ‘surrendered to Belgium to serve the sentence of imprisonment imposed.’
Ahmedzai was emotionless as he heard the decision.
Many would be put on small boats from northern France to the UK, with the gang suspected of transporting thousands of people this way.
NCA investigators have supported the Belgian investigation for around two years.
They supplied intelligence and evidence to the Belgian Federal Police around suspected members of the network.
Eleven members were tried in their absence, including the three men arrested in the UK.
The men were convicted in November in the Belgian city of Antwerp alongside 21 other gang members for a total of 170 years in prison, with sentences ranging from two to 18 years. Pictured: Zeeshan Bangash being arrested
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, earlier said: ‘This case is nothing short of sickening. These men ran extensive illegal smuggling operations and inflicted extreme cruelty on the migrants they smuggled – some of them children – when they were at their most vulnerable.
‘I am grateful to the NCA, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement officers, for their hard work and dedication in pursuing these vile criminal gangs, safeguarding victims of exploitation and protecting our borders.
‘As part of the Government’s Plan for Change to strengthen our borders, we are working ever more closely with international partners to track down dangerous criminal networks like these, disrupt their activities and ensure they face the full force of the law, to protect people and save lives.
‘In recent weeks we’ve agreed landmark new deals with Iraq and Germany, pledging mutual support and co-operation to tackle this shared challenge. At the Calais Group meeting with European partners too, we agreed to enhance our joint efforts to end this dangerous trade.
‘Through this closer international collaboration, joint work between law enforcement agencies, new legislation, and the £150 million cash investment in the Border Security Command, we are making clear we will stop at nothing to protect our borders from people-smuggling gangs.’
