Snaresbrook: An illegal people-smuggling ring that brought more than 100 Turkish immigrants into the UK has been smashed by the National Crime Squad (NCS).

Five men including two from Waltham Forest were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court last week.

Daniel Dempsey, 37, of McDonald Road, Walthamstow, was convicted of four charges of people smuggling and will spend seven years in prison.

One of his accomplices, John Anastasiou, 32, of Linnet Close, Chingford, received community rehabilitation orders and a £750 fine for obtaining hire vehicles by deception and using forged documents, including a fake passport.

The smuggling gang was busted following months of extensive surveillance by officers from the NCS both in the UK and abroad.

On one occasion, Dempsey and an accomplice were witnessed boarding a ferry at Dover and driving to a supermarket to buy boxes of beer, which were used to hide people.

They then drove to Dunkirk where they loaded 22 immigrants in the van with the help of two French women.

The women were later sentenced to six months imprisonment.

On other occasions, Dempsey and another gang member were seen instructing drivers to pick up immigrants, including babies, to bring back to Britain.

When the gang became suspicious of being watched by NCS officers, they turned to Belgian ports in a bid to escape prosecution.

But the ring was finally broken when an undercover officer managed to infiltrate the gang and recorded two of them discussing bringing in 100 immigrants into Britain by boat from Belgium.

The efforts of the officers were remarked on by the sentencing judge at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Judge Wilkinson, who praised their "patience, courage and resourcefulness."

The operation to crack the gang began in spring 2000, and officers managed to arrest seven other men from France and Belgium, all of whom have since been prosecuted through their countries' own courts.

The lead investigator in the operation, Detective Chief Inspector Steve Bazzoni, said: "This was a very complex and protracted investigation.

"We worked extremely closely with the National Criminal Intelligence Service from the start, and they continued to provide intelligence support throughout the operation.

"We also worked with the Immigration Service, and on the Continent we were assisted by the French and Belgian authorities.

"By the very nature of immigration crime, international co-operation is essential. We feel that this operation has further enhanced that co-operation both in the UK and abroad."

The other Brits in Dempsey and Anastasiou's gang included Fazil Ozen, 53, of Green Street, Enfield, who was jailed for 27 months; Mensur Hassan, 30, of Daubney Road, Clapton Park, who received six years imprisonment; and Nathan Gordon, 23, of Portnall Road, Kilburn, who received a 12-month suspended sentence and two supervision orders.

July 12, 2002 10:00