Pakistani duo given suspended jail terms at Craigavon Court for serious immigration offences

Shakir Ullah, 35, director of Manchester-based Digital Circle Ltd, and Irfan Ali, 32, who ran Simply Peach Ltd, also in Manchester, were both sentenced at Craigavon Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday 15 December).

Ullah was sentenced to three years in jail suspended for three years and Ali received 18 months in jail suspended for three years.

The pair had both pleaded guilty to five counts (each) of facilitating unlawful entry to the UK.

The court heard how Ullah ran stalls across Northern Ireland, while Ali had outlets across the North West and Midlands of England and also Scotland.

The men were arrested in November 2013 following an operation targeting mobile phone stalls in 19 shopping centres across Northern Ireland. In total ten people were found working illegally on the stalls.

Of the seven Pakistani men arrested for illegally working for Digital Circle Ltd., six have since been removed from the UK. A further three Indian men arrested separately in the same operation have also been removed from the country.

Carolyne Lindsay of Immigration Enforcement’s Crime Team for Scotland & Northern Ireland, said: “This case shows our commitment to tackling those responsible for bringing illegal immigrants to the UK.

“Our dedicated, well resourced teams will catch them and put them before the courts.”