A prolific people smuggler who is on a global 'most wanted list' is so 'addicted' to making illegal millions that he has introduced 'economy, business and first class' tiers for migrants desperate for a new life in Great Britain. including £18,000 'less stress' ferry tickets across the Channel.
A new BBC Radio 4 Intriges podcast To catch a scorpion sees journalist Sue Mitchell join forces with volunteer aid worker – and former army expert – Rob Lawrie to try to track down ruthless smuggler Barzan Majeed, who was born in Iraq and uses the code name 'Scorpion'.
The podcast, of which three episodes have been released so far, sees the pair attempt to track down the criminal mastermind, who continues to evade capture despite an international police surveillance operation that has jailed many of his underworld colleagues.
In 2022, he was given a ten-year prison sentence at the court in Bruges for human smuggling during his absence. Majeed, who was once settled in the country Nottinghamwas also fined 968,000 euros (£849,000).
A new BBC podcast, hosted by Sue Mitchell and Rob Lawrie, follows in the wake of Barzan Majeed, who remains at large and is on the international most wanted lists for human trafficking
An anonymous contact who knew Scorpion during the early days of his criminal career estimates that he has now covertly moved tens of thousands of people – many endangering their lives in trucks and on defective boats – spread across an entire continent and has made millions from it.
In a disguised voice, the man says, “He likes the nice cars, the nice house, he lived the good life, he always had money – always $200,000 under his bed.
'In one night he made £500,000. He had 56 passengers, the reserve price was £9,000 [pp] for the truck.'
The third episode of the series shows how corruption within border control led Scorpion to a new, more expensive way to reach British shores.
Another contact says he now offers 'a first class service', explaining: Barzaan said there are three modes: business and economic [SIC] and first class.'
Mitchell and Lawrie are left amazed after speaking to an anonymous Iranian man about how he successfully reached Britain via the 'premium' cross-Channel ferry route.
The series explores how Majeed, who goes by the code name Scorpion, rose to the top of a criminal empire – putting tens of thousands of migrant lives at risk – after masterminding the crossing by boat, truck and ferry.
He tells them that he has been traveling with his wife and father, after paying £18,000 to Scorpion's gang.
The man says he was told he could on board a ferry in Calais, right under the noses of the authorities, and 'no one would stop them'.
He draws a map for Mitchell and Lawrie, who then head to Calais to retrace his steps and see if his story is true – and they quickly find the electronic gate that began his family's journey to England.
The exit gate is only to be used by Calais Port staff and Scorpion gang members tell the family to dress smartly and 'walk with confidence', the podcast recounts.
The family was told that the gate would open at 8pm and that they would then have to hide in a toilet block for 20 minutes, which they did.
The podcast reveals that Scorpion is now offering a 'first class' service by paying corrupt border control officials in Calais to let migrants through ferry terminals
The Iranian says: 'We only had 30 seconds, we passed the door and just walked in. As we passed the door, I saw the police.”
Lawrie says, “You just passed them?” The man answers, “Yes, yes.”
A corrupt official knocked on the toilet block door and then drove the family to the ferryinvalidating British passport controls.
Lawrie said: 'The man was confident enough to let them get out of his car and buy them an English breakfast on the ferry.'
Port of Calais authorities have not commented on the Iranian family's claims.
In the second episode of the series, Mitchell and Lawrie meet another Iranian family, this time crossing the Channel on a boat in the dead of night.
They first meet them in Calais, while 13-year-old Manna prepares for the dangerous crossing with her parents, brother and sister Maya.
Journalist Mitchell and volunteer aid worker Lawrie meet Manna, a 13-year-old Iranian girl who traveled to Britain with her father, mother and sister on a terrifying nine-hour journey in a rubber boat. Her sister was given sleeping medication to stop her crying and alerting authorities
Manna tells the journalist and aid worker that they paid £6,000 for the trip after being told they have a 'great chance' of reaching England.
Having kept in touch with the family after arriving on British soil – to live in a tent before claiming asylum – they tell of their terrifying experiences crossing the Channel with gun smugglers.
Barzan Kamal Majeed, 36, photo, nicknamed 'Scorpion', is on the run and was given a 10-year prison sentence at the court in Bruges last month for smuggling people in his absence
Manna tells them that they have boarded an inflatable dinghy containing 13 adults, including 4 children. Because they had no navigation system, they went off course in the pitch dark and the journey took nine hours.
Manna is heard saying that her mother gave the baby to the smuggler, who gave her “a sedative” so that her screams would not alert the border police.
She told the podcast that she was afraid of giant waves caused by a passing ferry and that she prayed to God for their safety because it was “so cold.”
According to the Ministry of the Interior, 120,000 people have done so have arrived on British shores in this way since 2020.
Investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA) worked with officers in Belgium to track down Majeed and issued an arrest warrant for him in 2022.
The criminal moved to Britain in 2013 and lived in Nottingham, where he still has connections.
In 2015 he was deported to the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.
To catch a Scorpion is now available on BBC Sounds