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A gun-toting people smuggler has been jailed for 17 years.
Amanj Hasan Zada was sentenced at Preston Crown Court after being found guilty on three counts of people smuggling.
The 34-year-old was arrested during raids in Stefano Road, Fishwick, during May.
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The Iranian national was found guilty after a two week trial of orchestrating small boat crossings across the Channel in November and December last year.
Footage emerged showing Zada – who also used the name Amanj Zaman – shooting a gun and being lauded by a musical group in Iraq as ‘the best smuggler’.
The National Crime Agency also showed extensive social media promotion by Zada advertising his services as well as videos he posted of Kurdish migrants praising him.
NCA Branch Commander Martin Clarke said: “Amanj Hasan Zada ran a sophisticated people smuggling enterprise, using social media to advertise his services.
“While we have uncovered evidence directly linking him to three specific crossings, there is no doubt in my mind that he was likely to have been involved in many more.
“For him it was all about profit, and he had no issues with putting people in life threatening situations as long as he got paid.
“People smugglers like him risk lives, which is why we are determined to do all we can to stop them, wherever they operate.”
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