The Welsh Government’s flagship “Nation of Sanctuary” immigration policy — a joint initiative of Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru that has cost taxpayers approximately £63.87 million since 2019 — is facing renewed criticism after two men operating a major people smuggling ring from Caerphilly, Wales were sentenced to 19 years in prison each.
Dilshad Shamo, 43, and Ali Khdir, 42, were convicted of facilitating the illegal movement of migrants across Europe as part of a multinational organised crime network. The pair, who outwardly presented themselves as businessmen running a car wash in Caerphilly, were in reality coordinating the smuggling of migrants from Iraq, Iran and Syria through Belarus, Moldova and Bosnia, with routes ending in Italy, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Germany and France.
National Crime Agency investigators found that Shamo and Khdir used WhatsApp and social media to advertise tiered services — ranging from travel on foot or by HGV, to cargo ships and yachts, up to air travel — with payments funnelled through Hawala bankers in Iraq and Istanbul. The NCA believes the pair smuggled more than 400 people in just six months before their arrest in April 2023. They were sentenced on 10 April 2026 following a Newton hearing, after pleading guilty partway through their trial in November.
“While on the surface they portrayed themselves as successful businessmen running a car wash from Caerphilly, they were actually leading an entirely separate life as part of a criminal network.”
The case raises uncomfortable questions for the Nation of Sanctuary policy, introduced jointly by Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru through their co-operation agreement. The policy commits Wales to supporting refugees and asylum seekers in accessing housing, healthcare and education, positioning Wales as a welcoming destination for those fleeing conflict and persecution.
Critics argue that well-intentioned sanctuary policies can be exploited by criminal networks, as the Caerphilly case demonstrates. The smuggling ring deliberately targeted migrants moving toward Western Europe, with Wales serving as a base of operations, not a coincidence, opponents argue, in a country that signals openness to those crossing borders illegally.
Policy cost (2019–2025) £63.87m
Migrants smuggled (est.) 400+
Prison sentences 19 yrs each
Smuggling timeframe 6 months
Welsh Conservatives and Reform UK have both called for the Nation of Sanctuary funds, nearly £64 million over six years — to be redirected to struggling public services such as the NHS, schools and social care. They contend that the Labour-Plaid Cymru administration’s high-profile stance on welcoming migrants does not address the underlying criminal infrastructure that profits from illegal crossings, and may in fact increase demand for smuggling routes by sustaining the expectation of safe reception in Britain.
Kate Hurst of the Crown Prosecution Service said that Shamo and Khdir had tried to minimise their roles at trial and that the court rightly rejected this. The prosecution was made possible by cooperation between the NCA, Gwent Police and international partners.
“The NCA will continue in our work to tackle organised immigration crime and bring criminals involved at every step of the route to justice.”
— Derek Evans, NCA Branch Commander
Supporters of the Nation of Sanctuary policy maintain it is directed at those who have already arrived and are seeking legal protection, and should not be conflated with the activities of criminal gangs. However, opponents counter that the two issues cannot be cleanly separated — that Labour and Plaid Cymru’s policy of projecting Wales as a place of sanctuary inevitably sends signals that are exploited by the smuggling networks profiting from illegal migration.
With the Welsh Government yet to comment on the sentencing, pressure is expected to grow on ministers to account for both the financial cost of the policy and its wider consequences in the context of organised immigration crime operating from Welsh soil.
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