Albanian woman jailed for ‘major role’ in UK people smuggling operation

Ujeza Kurmekaj (32) facilitated crossings for Albanian nationals from France to the UK before being arrested by National Crime Agency officers at her home in Banbury, Oxfordshire, in October 2022.

Detectives discovered hundreds of messages on her phone which showed her playing a key role linking people smugglers with passengers.

She sent instructions to contacts in France about who their targets were, with messages mentioning “family one, three women, children 14, 17, 12-years-old” and another about “one family, man, wife, one child”.

Other messages identified weather conditions such as the “very bad sea”, while others included map location pins instructing where to pick migrants up or where boats were located.

Further conversations showed individuals making contact with her to arrange transport for their families.

Kurmekaj’s phone also contained more than 20 images of Albanian ID cards and passports. These documents were checked on immigration systems, and nine of the individuals were found to have had arrived in the UK by small boat.

Kurmekaj was charged with facilitating illegal immigration in September and pleaded guilty to the charge at Oxford Crown Court on 3 November.

She was sentenced at the same court on Friday and will be automatically deported from the UK at the end of her jail term.

Andy MacGill, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “Ujeza Kurmekaj played a major role as a broker, linking migrants with people smugglers who could transport them on dangerous journeys across the Channel.

“For this, she would arrange payments of hundreds of euros per person.

“Kurmekaj had little interest in the safety and security of the people she was arranging crossings for, only that she and her employers received payment.

“Disrupting and dismantling organised crime groups responsible for people smuggling is a priority for the NCA and we’ll continue to target offenders involved at every step of the journey.”