SMUG Amanj Hasan Zada fired gunshots into the air at a party – while singers celebrated his status as Iraq’s ‘first class’ people smuggler.
The 33-year-old was filmed grinning from ear to ear as a band praised him as “the best agent”, boasting that “thousands of enemies are scared of him.”
Amanj Hasan Zada has been jailed for 17 years after being found guilty of people smugglingCredit: PA
Zada can be seen in a YouTube clip firing gunshots into the airCredit: NCA
The Iranian grinned from ear to ear as he was praised ‘the best agent’Credit: NCA
Officers working for the National Crime Agency managed to track Zada downCredit: NCA
Arrogant Zada, who once threatened to cut off a man’s legs after discovering his family had paid half price for a crossing, throws piles of cash at the singers and fires off a handgun at the end of the song which extols him as being “brave”.
The video, filmed in the Kurdish region of , led to Zada’s downfall after it was discovered by officers working for the National Agency and he was jailed for 17 years in November 2024.
But the Iranian smuggler wasn’t running his vile operation from Iraq – but from a modest home in Preston,.
The undercover operation to snare Zada, believed to have smuggled hundreds of mainly Kurdish migrants into , is told in a new NCA podcast out this month.
It reveals how he ran a complex smuggling racket from the living room of his tiny terraced home after entering Britain illegally and being granted asylum in 2019.
From the outside, Zada looked like any hard-up young jobless young man, but behind closed doors he was making £8,500 pounds from every immigrant he smuggled in.
Migrants willing to film themselves making crossings on and were given a cut price rate so long as they praised Zada’s ‘service’.
It’s believed he invested his fortune in property and land in Iraq after migrants paid him through the Muslim hawala system, which operates outside normal banking rules.
Desperate families would pay cash to a hawaladar (money broker) who would keep the cash for Zada, pass on to his family or exchange for services.
This allows people to exchange funds without physical cash crossing borders, settling accounts with each other later through a system of debt and credit based on trust and relationships. The method has long been associated with an easy way for criminals to launder money.
The NCA swoop on Zada’s terraced houseCredit: NCA
Zada is led away by NCA officersCredit: NCA
NCA investigator Alistair Mullen told The Sun: “We don’t believe the money ever left Iraq and was most likely invested over there.
“Zada had no dependents in Preston and barely left his house, relying solely on his phone and to promote his business.
“In Iraq he had a reputation as an almost Robin Hood character, helping people to get to a better life.”
Zada organised trips from Iraq to , then on to , mainly in cheap, cramped yachts, and organised at least three trips on channel crossings from to Britain.
In Iraq he had a reputation as an almost Robin Hood character, helping people to get to a better life
NCA investigator Alistair Mullen
He was heard referring to himself in phone calls to his network as the “King of the Sea”.
NCA officers launched an undercover investigation to monitor Zada’s moves in December 2023. They recorded calls in which Zada talked about yachts, camps and payments for passengers.
On one he called himself by his criminal alias, Amanj Zaman and described how one migrant had reached the ‘other side’.
Social media ads
Zada was known to those he smuggled as Amanj ZamanCredit: NCA
Zada advertised his services on social mediaCredit: NCA
Alistair Mullen tells the podcast: “He rarely left the house, and if he did, he didn’t really travel too far; he didn’t have his own car.
“He ran his network through his phone. He didn’t go off and meet people. He didn’t need to go and have clandestine meetings in a cafe or pub. It was all done from his phone in his living room.”
Officers raced to arrest Zada in May last year when they discovered he had fixed a journey across the Med on a yacht from Turkey.
Cops swooped outside his house after he unusually went for an early morning walk.
They seized three phones and digital equipment and Zada, who could speak very little English, tried to deny his crimes, claiming to have simply tried to help others like himself.
Violent threats
Last year at Preston Crown Court, Zada was found guilty of assisting seven Kurdish Iranian men get into the UK in dinghies, most with no documentation to confirm their names or ages.
The court heard how on one occasion, he was recorded threatening to cut a man’s legs off after learning he had begged smugglers to allow his family to travel half price.
Migrants willing to film themselves making crossings on Facebook and TikTok were given discountsCredit: NCA
Officers arrested the people smuggler in May last yearCredit: NCA
Each of Zada’s organised crossings involved Kurdish migrantsCredit: NCA
Mullen said: “One of the most challenging areas securing a conviction was that there were no physical bank statements and no transfers in the UK where you can trace where funds have come from.
“The hawala network is quite complex and based entirely on trust but it all had to be communicated and when we were able to download digital devices we could hear money being talked about quite openly.
“In court, Zada’s barrister used this as his main line of defence, quoting the famous Jerry Maguire film quote ‘show me the money’.”
Zada’s brother, Anjan Ahmadi, was also arrested for his part in the smuggling operation and, last month, was jailed for five years and seven months at Preston Crown Court.
He was found to have acted as a driver and a contact for migrants and voice notes were found on his phone, including one with person who wanted to travel to the UK with his relatives “but not by dinghy.”
Zada’s brother Anjan Ahmadi was also arrested and jailedCredit: National Crime Agency
Officers arrest Anjan Ahmadi at his homeCredit: National Crime Agency
Thousands are risking their lives to arrive in the UK in small boatsCredit: Chris Eades
As of October 21, 2025, 36,734 people had arrived in the UK via small boats. Latest figures show that in the year 2023-24 Immigration Enforcement arrested over 230 persons for people smuggling into the UK, and convicted over 110, leading to over 160 years in sentences.
NCA branch commander Martin Clarke told The Sun how Zada’s motives were purely financial, despite his pretence of ‘helping’ people.
He said: “This wasn’t an ad hoc structure by any means. Zada organised people all over the world to facilitate the movement of migrants, the logistics of it, the advertising, the social media footprint. It was run like a business.
“These men didn’t care about the risks those they were moving faced, they just saw them as a commodity to be profited from and preyed upon their desperation.”
Underworld: Behind the Scenes of the NCA, will be available from Wednesday November 12 on all major platforms including , Apple Music, and .
