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Adem Savas, a Turkish national previously listed as the most wanted man by the National Crime Agency (NCA), has been sentenced to 11 years in prison along with a €400,000 (£346,000) fine. He admitted guilt to charges involving people smuggling and membership in an organized crime group. Savas was identified as a major supplier of small boats and engines used by smuggling gangs facilitating illegal crossings of the English Channel between 2019 and 2024.
The NCA described Savas as “without a doubt the most significant supplier” to these criminal operations, noting that he is believed to have made millions by charging around £4,000 on average for packages containing boats and engines. His equipment is thought to have contributed to approximately half of all Channel crossings in 2023, positioning him as a key operator within the European people-smuggling networks.
Savas was arrested at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in November 2024 as part of a coordinated effort between the NCA and Belgian law enforcement. His sentencing took place in a court in Bruges, Belgium. The supplies he provided were transported on a route from Turkey through Bulgaria and eventually stored in Germany before being distributed for use in migrant crossings.
The investigation leading to Savas’s arrest began with a probe into Hewa Rahimpur, a Kurdish national who headed a smuggling ring responsible for moving over 10,000 migrants in small boats to the UK and was jailed in 2023. According to the NCA, Savas was Rahimpur’s “key supplier of boats and engines.” Rob Jones, Director General of Operations at the NCA, highlighted that the equipment supplied by Savas was “likely involved in numerous fatal events in the Channel,” stressing that Savas operated under the guise of a legitimate maritime supply business while fully aware of the dangers and intended illegal use of his products. Border Security Minister Alex Norris commended the crackdown on those exploiting human lives for profit and praised law enforcement for capturing what he described as “this smuggling kingpin.
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