People Smugglers Used Code Words 'Chicken' and 'Pork' for Migrants in £56,000 Trafficking Operation
London, 25 February 2026
Two human traffickers have been convicted for smuggling 22 people across the Channel in lorry trailers between August and September 2020. The gang used encrypted messaging and degrading code words like ‘chicken’, ‘pork’, and ‘siblings’ to refer to migrants, whilst calling police ‘dogs’ and vehicles ‘horses’. Duc Quang Ta was arrested carrying £56,000 to pay accomplices, revealing the substantial profits from exploiting vulnerable people seeking asylum. The operation kept migrants in Belgian safe houses before dangerous lorry crossings via ferries and the Channel Tunnel. This conviction represents just one case among approximately 100 ongoing National Crime Agency investigations into organised immigration crime, highlighting the extensive scale of human trafficking networks currently operating across Europe.
Birmingham Crown Court Delivers Verdict on Trafficking Ring
A jury at Birmingham Crown Court found Duc Quang Ta, 36, of Norton Road in Reading, and Sarfaraz Sardarzehi, 58, of Plough Way in Southwark, London, guilty on Monday of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration [1][2]. Ta was additionally convicted of money laundering charges [1]. The National Crime Agency (NCA) arrested Ta near Leatherhead, Surrey, in September 2020 whilst he was travelling to pay co-conspirators £56,000 in Kent [1][2]. Sardarzehi was arrested the following day in Birmingham, found in a car with men he admitted knowing were illegal migrants, who investigators believed were connected to Ta’s attempted payment [1][2].
Sophisticated Operation Exploited Vulnerable Migrants
The trafficking gang operated by hiding migrants in lorries that travelled to the UK via ferries or the Channel Tunnel [1][2]. Once in Britain, the migrants were quickly transported by car away from the south coast to reduce the risk of detection by Border Force officers [3]. The operation required migrants to pay significant sums of money for their crossings and kept them in safe houses, primarily located in Belgium, until space became available in a lorry [1][2]. According to NCA investigations, Ta played an organiser role whilst Sardarzehi functioned as a ‘taxi driver’, moving migrants once they arrived in the UK [3].
Code Words Revealed Criminal Gang’s Dehumanising Approach
The gang communicated using encrypted social media platforms and employed a sophisticated code system that demonstrated their callous attitude towards the people they smuggled [1][2]. Investigators discovered the traffickers used slang terms including ‘siblings’, ‘chicken’, ‘pork’, or ‘things’ to refer to migrants, ‘dogs’ to mean police, and ‘horses’ to describe vehicles [1][2]. NCA senior investigating officer David Cushway emphasised how the gang ‘exploited migrants at every step of their dangerous journeys to the UK, all for the sake of profit’, noting that ‘the language they used to describe them [was] indicative of the disdain they held them in’ [1][2].
Scale of Trafficking Operation and Ongoing Investigations
The specific case related to Ta’s involvement in transporting 22 people across 16 occasions between 18 August and 6 September 2020, with Sardarzehi assisting on three occasions [1][2]. However, investigators suspect the gang operated for a considerably longer period than these documented instances [1][2]. Both men are scheduled to be sentenced in July 2026 [1][2]. The conviction forms part of the NCA’s broader enforcement efforts, with the agency currently leading approximately 100 investigations into organised immigration crime or human trafficking [1][2]. This case underscores the extensive scale of human trafficking networks operating across Europe and the ongoing challenge authorities face in dismantling these criminal enterprises that exploit vulnerable asylum seekers.