UK mass drowning disaster suspect 'pocketed over $3,250' from asylum seekers before they made fatal boat voyage

A suspect allegedly involved in the Channel drowning disaster last year, in which at least 25 people lost their lives, took £2,680 ($3,257) from individuals before they boarded the "makeshift boat" on the French coast, a UK court was told. 

Harem Ahmed Abwbaker was in an English Court on Wednesday accused of being the "right-hand man" in an "organised criminal gang involved in people trafficking" across French and British borders. 

The 32-year-old faces extradition to France on charges of "manslaughter", given he allegedly accepted payments and then helped asylum seekers onto the "unsuitable" vessel to make the fatal crossing to the UK. 

At least 25 people - including Afghans, Egyptians, Iranians and Iraqis - died when the boat capsized on 24 November 2021. Two survived and four people are still missing. 

UK Crown Prosecution Service lawyer Michael McHardy said the people who boarded the dinghy had "no chance of being able to face any event at sea". 

The court heard that Abwbaker accepted £2,680 as payment for the journey and that his phone was detected at the boat's launch site on 23 November. 

He later contacted the victims' families and offered to pay them money to stay silent after the mass drowning, the court was told. 

Abwbaker is slated to face an extradition hearing on 3 April. 

Lawyer McHardy said he is wanted for seven offences in total between 2018 and June this year related to "people trafficking". 

Bereaved relatives of the victims wrote to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the anniversary of the Channel drownings last week. 

They demanded "answers to why French and British authorities failed desperate people who came asking for help". 

Call logs from French and English emergency services taken from the early hours of 24 November found that distress calls from the capsized boat were repeatedly ignored. 

The two nations squabbled over whether the vessel was in their territorial waters while people were left to battle icy waters for up to 12 hours, an investigation revealed. 

"We call for safe passage to allow refugees to claim asylum in Britain without risking their lives in the Channel," the relatives said.