(BBC) Five men have been jailed for a “ruthless” people-smuggling operation involving nearly 2,000 people.
In one case nine people, including five children, were found in a distressed state in a lay-by after being brought from Europe in the back of a lorry.
Manchester Crown Court heard most were ethnic Kurds from Iran and Iraq.
The gang leader, Tarik Namik, 45, from Oldham, was jailed for eight years after admitting conspiracy to help asylum seekers enter the UK.
The organised crime group became subject of a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation in 2017.
