A man described by the National Crime Agency as its top global target for organised immigration crime has been jailed for supplying boats and engines used in thousands of small-boat crossings of the English Channel, the UK Defence Journal understands.
Turkish national Adem Savas, 45, was sentenced by a court in Bruges to 11 years in prison and fined €400,000 after admitting people smuggling offences and membership of an organised crime group. Three co-defendants received combined sentences totalling 38 years, according to Belgian authorities. Savas was arrested at Schiphol Airport in November 2024 and extradited to Belgium to face charges.
According to the NCA, Savas was identified during an earlier investigation into Kurdish crime figure Hewa Rahimpur, who led a Europe-wide smuggling network linked to more than 10,000 migrant crossings to the UK. Rahimpur was arrested by the NCA in London in 2022 and later jailed in Belgium, with his sentence increased to 13 years on appeal. Analysis of seized devices indicated that Savas was Rahimpur’s principal supplier of boats and engines, with the two maintaining regular contact. The NCA states that Savas was a major importer of low-cost outboard engines sourced from China, particularly Parsun-branded models frequently used in Channel crossings. Investigators say his network moved boats and engines overland from Turkey through Bulgaria and across Europe, with equipment stored in Germany before being used by smuggling gangs operating from northern France and Belgium.
Working with Belgian and Dutch law enforcement, the NCA traced haulage and storage arrangements linked to Savas. According to the Agency, this led to parallel investigations in the Netherlands, resulting in convictions for money laundering and drug trafficking connected to the wider network. The NCA assesses that between 2019 and his arrest in 2024, Savas supplied equipment used in thousands of small-boat crossings, charging around £4,000 per package and likely earning millions. Investigators believe that in 2023 alone, equipment linked to Savas may have been used in roughly half of all Channel crossings, elevating him to the top of the NCA’s list of high-value targets, according to the Agency.
NCA Director General of Operations Rob Jones said: “Adem Savas was without doubt the most significant supplier of boats and engines to people smuggling gangs involved in organising deadly crossings in the Channel.” He added: “He pretended to run a legitimate maritime supply company, but in reality he knew exactly how the equipment he provided would be used, and how unsuitable it was for long sea crossings.”
A senior officer from the Belgian Federal Judicial Police in West Flanders highlighted the international nature of the case, stating: “By combining the strengths and expertise of each law enforcement partner, we achieve international breakthroughs and stop serious threats to society.”
UK Minister for Border Security and Asylum Alex Norris said the case demonstrated a tougher approach to organised smuggling networks, stating: “We are cracking down on the criminals exchanging human lives for cash.” He added that recent legislation had strengthened law enforcement powers to intercept and arrest those involved in people smuggling.
The arrest operation was coordinated through Europol and Eurojust via a Joint Investigation Team.
I have always wondered what happens to the boats once they arrive here. Does the Border Agency destroy them?
“Vinted”.
😆
“I cannot fiddle but I can make a great state”
Your turn !
It’s a waste if they do.
If it were up to me I’d give them to Ukraine; they’d probably be able to make them into cheap attack drones or something.
Probably should’ve been a longer sentence, though I don’t think they’ll be much deterred no matter the length of the sentence.
This is not done just for the money is it? Its colonisation.
If the organization is that big, you can be pretty sure people will have died. Multiple counts of manslaughter should have been on the docket.
This guy got off lightly by being tried in Belgium who are as soft as the Dutch. Boats will probably go into landfill and the motors hopefully crushed as they are rubbish knock offs and even the shower in the HO must realise if they try to sell them the scumbags will buy them back again as happens with the idiotic auctions the Yanks do with seized boats etc.