A ringleader of one of Europe's largest people-smuggling gangs was jailed at a south London court today.
The gang ran rackets estimated by police to be worth millions of pounds and involved thousands of people.
Illegal immigrants, predominantly from Turkey and including children, were shipped into London from mainland Europe in cramped containers and lorries in journeys that could have taken months.
Ramazan Zorlu, 43, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years at Croydon Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to a role in the network.
He was one of 10 to have admitted carrying out the people smuggling operation, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
The racket was smashed last October following a two-year investigation by London police, known as Operation Bluesky, the biggest of its kind carried out in Britain.
The police operation involved 30 investigations across the UK and Europe, including networks in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria and Italy.
The investigation identified more than 400 illegal immigrants who the gang had tried to smuggle into Britain.
Migrants using the system would have spent up to £14,000 each to be brought into the country.
Worldwide human smuggling is a business worth £8 billion, London police said.