A UK-based organised crime group led by a Gambian national has been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for operating a sophisticated immigration fraud network that enabled hundreds of people, mainly from The Gambia, to enter Britain illegally using altered passports.
The gang, headed by 51-year-old Lamin Manneh, generated more than £1 million by modifying genuine Gambian passports containing valid UK visas and selling them to migrants seeking unlawful entry into the United Kingdom.
Manneh, who was sentenced to more than six years’ imprisonment in 2024 after admitting facilitating the illegal entry of two migrants, received an additional sentence of six years and eight months on 26 June after pleading guilty to conspiracy to facilitate unlawful immigration and money laundering.
Several members of the organised crime group were also sentenced by Leeds Crown Court.
Alieu Barry, 31, was jailed for six years, while Mariama Jallow, 46, received four years and 11 months. Ida Chow, 40, was sentenced to three years and eight months, Sulayman Samateh, 46, to three years, Musu Sanyang, 49, to two years and seven months, and Pa Sanneh, 44, to two years and one month. Dodou Cham, 31, received a 12-month community order with 60 hours of unpaid work.
According to prosecutors, the gang operated what was effectively a “one-stop shop” for illegal migration. Members obtained genuine Gambian passports already containing valid UK visas, altered the biometric pages by replacing the original photographs with those of paying clients, and arranged flights to Britain.
The network also collected migrants from UK airports, provided them with accommodation and assisted them in finding employment.
The court heard that in one case the gang repeatedly used the passport of a deceased Gambian national to facilitate the entry of three different individuals by replacing the passport photograph after each journey.
Investigators believe the organisation facilitated the illegal entry of several hundred migrants between January 2022 and July 2025. Although the exact number may never be established, police recovered images of 559 unique passports from Manneh’s mobile phone, indicating the scale of the operation.
The investigation gained momentum in early 2024 after Border Force officers at Manchester Airport intercepted a traveller carrying the passport of a Gambian man whose travel documents had been stolen during a burglary two years earlier.
The traveller later admitted paying the equivalent of £5,200 for forged travel documents and travel arrangements.
All eight defendants pleaded guilty to offences relating to facilitating unlawful immigration. Manneh, Barry, Jallow and Chow also admitted laundering the proceeds of the criminal enterprise.
Robert Warner, Specialist Prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service’s Organised Crime Division, described the operation as a highly organised criminal enterprise.
“This was a sophisticated plot that brought hundreds of people to the UK who had no legal right to be here,” Warner said.
“Lamin Manneh and his gang charged their customers thousands of pounds and offered a one-stop shop for migrants seeking to enter the UK illegally. They provided fake travel documents, booked flights, and found migrants accommodation and jobs.”
Warner said the Crown Prosecution Service would continue working closely with the Home Office and police to prosecute organised criminal groups involved in facilitating illegal immigration.
UK Minister for Border Security and Asylum Alex Norris welcomed the convictions, saying the government was intensifying efforts against people-smuggling networks.
“This government is going after the gangs exploiting our borders for their own profit,” Norris said.
“With disruptions to smuggling activity, including arrests, convictions and seizures, up by nearly 50 per cent, we’re putting these criminals behind bars where they belong.”
The Crown Prosecution Service said it would begin confiscation proceedings against Manneh, Barry, Jallow and Chow to recover the proceeds of their criminal activities and prevent them from benefiting financially from the operation.