Be Indian and become rich Indian: Buy Indians and Sell Indians

Be Indian, Buy Indians and Sell Indians

21 Dec 2008, 0450 hrs IST, PTI

Times of India

LONDON: An Indian-origin man, who was jailed for five years for human trafficking in April this year, has been asked to pay more than 3,00,000 pounds by a UK court. The Leicester Crown court ordered Asif Patel, one of the six people convicted in January this year of smuggling illegal migrants from India into Britain, to pay the amount by January 31 next year, or face a further five years in prison. Patel (32) owned a mobile phone shop in Bolton, and was jailed on April 21. At the confiscation hearing, Judge William Everade ordered him to pay back 3, 03,368 pounds. The court was told that Patel sent money to contacts in India who recruited the clients, using a money exchange bureau. Each of the illegal migrants smuggled into the UK reportedly paid around 8,000 pounds. Besides Asif Patel, other members of the people smuggling gang were Sajid Bhikhi, Asif Bhikhi, Sikandar Patel, Soyab Patel and Sabbir Patel. They were sentenced to different terms of imprisonment. The people smugglers forged or stole documents to bring Indian citizens illegally into Britain via South Africa, often on forged South African passports. Holders of the passports can enter Britain as visitors for a period of six months. The investigation, which began in September 1999 after an illegal passport-making factory was discovered under a staircase in a house in Leicester, was led by Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and spanned several countries. In some cases, after the Indian nationals were brought into Britain, they were then facilitated to travel to Canada or the US through the collusion of a corrupt official at the Heathrow airport in UK. Printed from Further action against Indian trafficker 15 Dec 2008, 1350 hrs IST, IANS LEICESTER: A Leicester court is to begin hearing on whether the assets of an India-born shopkeeper, who was jailed for human trafficking early this year, be confiscated or not. Asif Patel, from Daubhill in Bolton, England, was part of a gang that used forged passports to bring thousands of Indian nationals into Britain. His home was raided in 2006 as part of a police investigation into illegal immigration. Patel, aged 32, who owned a mobile phone shop, was jailed for five years on Apr 21 this year after he was found guilty. The Leicester Crown Court heard his role including handling large payments from clients, who paid 8,000 pounds for their passage into Britain. The Bolton News has reported that a week-long confiscation hearing is due to begin at Leicester Crown Court Monday to investigate into Patel's assets.