A SUSPECTED people-trafficker accused of smuggling migrants across the Channel is rubbing shoulders with holidaymakers while living at a four-star hotel.
Iraq-born Rebin Sharif, 25, is staying there while on bail facing extradition to France.
Peter JordanIraq-born Rebin Sharif is accused of smuggling migrants across the Channel[/caption]
Steve FinnThe suspected people smuggler is rubbing shoulders with holidaymakers while living at a four-star hotel[/caption]
SuppliedFamilies and businesspeople at the £180-a night hotel in Kent were outraged[/caption]
But there is mystery over who is funding his potential 107-day, £15,000 stay, after sources told The Sun on Sunday the Government was not footing the bill.
Families and businesspeople at the £180-a night hotel in Kent were outraged after learning they could be sharing its restaurant with a man suspected of involvement in an organised trafficking crime gang.
Tourist James Goldfinch, 41, of Exeter, Devon, said: “I’ve been staying here with my wife with no idea this is going on. Knowing he was so close makes my skin crawl. He should be kept in a secure place — not mingling with retirees and families with children on holiday.”
Sharif, who has to wear an electronic tag, has been there since his last court appearance over potential extradition and could remain until his next hearing on June 20.
As well as a super-comfy room and on-site gym, Sharif has had the opportunity to make the most of a £30-a-head gin and Champagne cream tea menu and a restaurant grill with steak.
The suspect faces trial for recruiting migrants for dangerous small boat trips across the Channel, as well as money- laundering and organised crime offences.
It follows his arrest by National Crime Agency officers on February 5 in Kent after French prosecutors issued a warrant.
Sharif claims to have lived in the UK for about a decade.
Court documents show he was forced to hand in an asylum card to police when he was nicked.
He appeared at Westminster magistrates court on March 5, where he was granted bail after paying a £3,000 surety.
When a Sun on Sunday reporter approached him, he said: “There’s been a big mistake. I’ve been here for ten years and never had a problem. I am innocent.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “It is long-standing Home Office policy that we do not comment on individual cases, and especially not on live extradition proceedings.”
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
