BBC Investigation Identifies Iraqi Kurdish Smuggler Linked to Most Small Boat Channel Crossings

The network, referred to by some as the Ranya Boys, is believed to control smuggling routes stretching from Afghanistan to the UK and has been linked to the deaths of at least two migrants in the Channel. One case involved a 24-year-old man from Ranya named Shwana who boarded an overloaded boat last November; the vessel began to sink and four people, including him, were lost overboard.

His body was never recovered. The crossing had been coordinated via a WhatsApp group using a number that also appeared in one of Jaf’s social media advertisements. Family members in Ranya said Shwana had been influenced by such adverts promising a better life amid high unemployment in the region.

A small museum in Ranya displays hundreds of photos of local people who died on migrant routes. Its owner, who received death threats from smugglers after setting it up, recognised a picture of Jaf but did not know his real name.

Jaf has posted on social media showing his face, advertising services with images of luxury in London and testimonials from those who completed the journey. He is wanted for questioning by at least one European police force, though his current whereabouts are unknown.

One associate, a member of the same network, was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison in France for money laundering and organising illegal entry. When confronted by the BBC with evidence of his activities, Jaf denied being a smuggler or committing any offence.

He said he had only advised people on how to leave Iraq and claimed the incident involving the missing man had nothing to do with him before ending the call. The number used has since been disconnected. Neither the Home Office nor the National Crime Agency confirmed the identity.

The BBC provided details to the Home Office, which stated it had not received evidence substantiating the claims. A spokesperson for the National Crime Agency said the agency had engaged with the BBC during production of the series and noted that media engagement can help disrupt criminal behaviour in hard-to-reach jurisdictions.

The spokesperson added that the agency has more than 100 ongoing investigations into top-tier organised immigration crime networks, including those based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and has increased resources devoted to the issue. Disruptions to organised immigration crime rose by more than a third last year, with joint operations leading to the arrest of 480 migrant traffickers.

Small boat crossings have been the most common method of illegal entry to the UK since 2020. Nearly all arrivals claim asylum, citing persecution or violence in their home countries. Almost all are aged under 40, with men and boys making up nearly nine in 10 arrivals between 2018 and 2025.

As of December 2025 there were 103,426 people in asylum accommodation. A Kurdish MP on the foreign relations committee in the Iraqi Kurdistan parliament described the network as powerful and suggested that targeting those controlling operations from Ranya could address a large portion of UK migration issues.

A director general in the Kurdistan Regional Government’s interior ministry said the voice of smugglers often drowns out those of media and government in the region. Some evidence suggests growing local willingness to speak against the trade despite threats to those who do so.