Ahmed Hameed Sakhizada, 33, of Northampton,"I am Europe's agent, I am the smuggler of Europe."

Ahmed Hameed Sakhizada, 33, of Northampton, was jailed at Kingston Crown Court.He boasted: "I am Europe's agent, I am the smuggler of Europe." after he admitted a charge of conspiracy to contravene the Immigration Act.A charge of conspiracy to transfer criminal property was allowed to lie on file, while two other members of his gang were also jailed.Abdul Wakil Niazi, 35, of Camden Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after he was found guilty of conspiracy to contravene the Immigration Act and conspiracy to transfer criminal property.Sakhizada's brother Ahmed Shah Sakhizada, 24, of Wellingborough Road, Northampton, was sentenced to seven years after he was also found guilty of both counts.During the trial Kingston Crown Court heard the gang was known to be responsible for the illegal immigration of at least 230 young men into Europe, mainly from Pakistan and Afghanistan, although the number was likely to be higher.
The gang hid behind a web of pizza shops across the country, including Northampton, Kent, Berkshire, and Essex, where the immigrants were set to work to pay off their "debt" of up to £10,000.They smuggled victims through Afghanistan into Iran and Turkey then to the Greek islands and into European countries including the UK.
Surveillance by the Serious Organised Crime Agency recorded Abdul Hameed Sakhizada, who lived above a pizza shop in Northampton, in January 2008 saying that in two months he had moved 1,800 people.