𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A convicted people smuggler once known as the “godfather” of the Calais migrant camps is living in Leicestershire after claiming asylum. Twana Jamal is working illegally at a vape shop and bragging that Leicester “is ours”.

The scandal has prompted calls for Channel migrants to be detained for longer than the current 24-hour limit, as it is “incompatible with serious identity verification”. Jamal earnt £100,000-a-week smuggling migrants into Britain in the backs of lorries.

And a BBC probe found more than 20 active people smugglers in the UK – including some with convictions overseas.

Others have claimed asylum using false names.

The former Director General of Border Force, Tony Smith, told the Daily Express: “The UK needs longer detention for undocumented arrivals, because a 24-hour limit is incompatible with serious identity verification.

“Border Force needs full Police National Database access on site, and routine facial image comparison against existing UK custody and crime scene imagery.

“We need a more structured intelligence-gathering process because organised immigration crime depends on networks, facilitators and routes that can only be understood through proper debriefing.

“If we want to prevent cases like this, we need more time, better technology and a modernised intelligence framework that reflects the reality of organised immigration crime.

“The evidence is there. The gaps are clear. Now we need the political will to fix them.”

Jamal, a member of the so-called Ranya Boys, was jailed in 2016 for people smuggling.

During the height of the Jungle crisis, he charged £4,000 – £5,000 to cross to the UK.

The Kurdish criminal had so many fake aliases he had to write his name inside his baseball cap to remember who he was supposed to be.

And he eventually made it to Leicester, where he said he was claiming asylum.

He boasted to an undercover reporter: “We know everyone in this city, this city is ours”.

Jamal also admitted driving a car without a licence, declaring, “no one touches us here.”

He added: “Even the police won’t stop you.”

Jamal was spotted running two mini-marts, both named Candy Corner, in Blaby, Leicestershire.

He initially claimed to the BBC that he had never smuggled migrants into the UK.

But when he was shown a picture of himself in a French courtroom, he said it was a long time ago. When told it was proof he had been arrested, he replied: “I don’t care.”

French cops busted Jamal while he was working in the camp after putting him under surveillance and tapping his phones.

Three officers were injured in the dawn raid when he was arrested as migrants battled to stop him being hauled away.

In an undercover visit to a shop where Jamal was working behind the till, reporters were told his name was “Sultan”.

Another alias he used during his time smuggling was “Pasha”, translating to high-ranking in Turkish.

A French investigator on the case previously said: “It’s likely Jamal was one of the most successful people smugglers ever in terms of the money he made.

“We haven’t been able to identify all the UK ‘bankers’ involved in the organisation.

“That’s why we hope our British colleagues can locate them and try and recover the money.

“The figure of £1million Jamal made personally is just a starting point. It’s possible he made much more.

“If we hadn’t been tipped off by informers within the camp it’s more than likely he’d still be in business now — and making more money.”

On Thursday, Downing Street said: “We share the public’s shock at these reports, and we are working urgently to establish the facts.

“We will not tolerate abuse of our immigration system, and that is why we are deporting people with no right to be here at the highest rate in nearly a decade.”

The Home Office accused the BBC of “failing to provide evidence capable of substantiating the claims”.

A spokesman claimed: “All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks. We also have a number of agreements with countries which enable the sharing of criminal record information.”

“Immigration enforcement action is at the highest level in British history, with illegal working arrests up by 83 per cent and raids up by 77%.”