A people smuggling gang have been jailed after a family, including three children, died while attempting to cross the English Channel.

A French court convicted and sentenced the men after a boat carrying more than 20 migrants which capsized off the coast of Dunkirk.

A major search and rescue operation was launched by French authorities but 35-year-old Rasoul Iran-Nejad, his wife Shiva Mohammad Panahi, also aged 35, and their three children Anita, nine, Armin, six, and Artin, 15 months, all died.

Artin’s body was recovered two months later when it washed up on the coast of Norway.

Two other people who were believed to be on the boat on October 27 have never been found.

The incident prompted a major criminal investigation led by the French authorities, supported by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Shortly after, Assalan Ghorbani, who was suspected of having piloted the boat, was arrested by French authorities.

In June 2021, the NCA received intelligence that one of the key suspects, Rauf Perot Rahimifar, was in Denmark and was making plans to leave the country and return to Iran.

This was passed to the French authorities and a judge authorised a European Arrest Warrant.

The same day, he was arrested by Danish police and was eventually extradited back to France for trial.

On Friday, a court in Dunkirk convicted and sentenced four men for their roles in the attempts and the deaths of the Iranian family.

Ringleader Rahimifar received a nine-year jail sentence for arranging the attempt, while gang member Mostafa Kakelahi got seven years.

'These people smugglers saw this family as nothing more than a commodity to be profited from'

Hoshiar Khezri was sentenced to five years for bringing the boat that was used from Denmark to France, while boat pilot Ghorbani was handed a two-year sentence.

NCA director of threat leadership Chris Farrimond said: “The events of October 2020 were tragic in so many ways, and demonstrate both the terrible dangers of these crossings and the callous nature of the criminals involved.

“These people smugglers saw this family as nothing more than a commodity to be profited from, and cared nothing for their safety or welfare.

“Today’s convictions highlights the close cooperation between UK and French authorities in targeting these criminal networks, and shows that no matter where they operate we will take action to stop them and bring them to justice.”

Home Secretary Suella Braverman added: “This case is another tragic reminder of how people can lose their lives at the hands of the criminals behind these crossings.

“I’m grateful to the NCA for the important role they have played in supporting this investigation, working in tandem with our French partners.

“We will stop at nothing to disrupt the gangs profiting from this lethal trade and ensure they are brought to justice.”

Since the Anglo-French Joint Intelligence Centre was established in July 2020, 59 organised criminal groups involved in small boat crossings, in France, have been dismantled.

In 2022 the official figure for the number of asylum seekers arriving in small boats stood at 45,728.

But a Home Office worst-case scenario predicts that number could almost double in 2023 if French and British authorities do not succeed in disrupting the crossings.