French court convicts 18 in a trial casting light on the deadly migrant smuggling trade

Associated Press

LILLE, France (AP) — A French court in Lille has found 18 defendants guilty in a migrant smuggling trial linked to the dangerous English Channel crossings. One of the ringleaders, from Iraq, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined $218,000. The defendants were swept up in a major European police operation in July 2022. The trial has shed light on the migrant smuggling business in what has been a particularly deadly year for the many thousands of men, women and children who attempt the France-to-Britain sea crossing on small and often dangerously overloaded boats.