An Egyptian fisherman who helped traffic more than 3,000 migrants in a £12 million illegal boat operation has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Ahmed Ebid, 42, who lived in the UK, played a key role in smuggling nearly 3,800 people from North Africa to Italy between October 2022 and June 2023. Some of those migrants later reached the UK, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Ebid is the first person in the UK to be convicted for smuggling people from Africa to Italy across the Mediterranean.
He arrived in Britain on a small boat in 2022 after serving five years in an Italian prison for attempted drug smuggling. Although he applied for asylum in the UK, no decision was made on his case.
As a result, he remained in legal limbo—not facing deportation, nor granted leave to stay. Now, following his sentence, deportation is highly likely.
At the time of his arrest, Ebid was living in Home Office-funded housing in south-west London with his wife and sons.
During his sentencing at Southwark Crown Court, the judge described Ebid as someone who exploited vulnerable people solely for financial gain.
“The treatment of migrants was horrifying,” said Judge Adam Hiddleston.
“This was a commercial enterprise, pure and simple. The risk of loss of life was considerable. These were fishing boats, not ferries.”
Ebid operated at a senior level, bribing officials and ordering violence against migrants, the court heard.
After sentencing, he shouted from the dock, calling the outcome “unfair” and claiming he had been “saving money to bring my family over.” A woman from his family wept in the public gallery.
He was arrested in 2023 after Italian authorities traced satellite phones used by migrants during crossings. Some of the phones had connected mid-journey to a British mobile number—later linked to Ebid.
The NCA then placed a recording device in his home, gathering evidence of his involvement in multiple smuggling runs, which put thousands of men, women, and children at risk in overcrowded fishing boats.
In one chilling incident, Ebid instructed an associate to kill any migrant found carrying a phone and throw the body overboard, according to the NCA.
On Facebook, he called himself “Captain Ahmed.” Notebooks found in his home included navigation details for Mediterranean crossings and records of payments.
Although Ebid admitted to facilitating illegal immigration into the EU—a criminal offense under UK law—he downplayed his role in the network. However, the NCA’s investigation showed he held a key management position.
Jacque Beer, NCA’s regional head of investigation, said:
“Ebid was part of a crime network who preyed upon the desperation of migrants to ship them across the Mediterranean in death trap boats.”
“The cruel nature of his business was demonstrated by the callous way he spoke of throwing migrants into the sea if they didn’t follow his rules. To him, they were just a source of profit.”
