A SHOPKEEPER who was a major player in a people smuggling operation has been jailed for five years.

Asif Patel, from Daubhill, was part of a gang which used forged passports to bring thousands of Indian nationals into the UK.

His Croston Street home was raided in 2006 as part of a police investigation into illegal immigration.

Patel, aged 32, who owns a mobile phone shop, was sentenced yesterday.

He was found guilty of a conspiracy to facilitate illegal entry into the UK at Leicester Crown Court in January.

The court had heard his role in the scam included handling large payments from clients, who paid £8,000 for their passage into Britain.

When the illegal immigrants arrived in the UK, the money was given to "foot soldiers" and the cash was then distributed to the main members of the gang.

Patel sent money to contacts in India who recruited the clients, using a money exchange bureau.

It is not known how many people were brought into the country but gang members made millions of pounds from the lucrative enterprise.

In one scam, clients travelled from India to South Africa using forged documents.

Once there, they paid each £500 for a genuine South African passport which was fraudulently issued by corrupt officials.

The passports were then used to enter Britain because anyone visiting the UK with a South African passport does not need a visa.

Those who managed to get into the UK were kept in safe houses in towns with large Gujurat communities such as Bolton, Blackburn, Preston and Leicester.

Often they then registered with a college or became involved in sham marriages to extend their stays.

Patel had lived in Bolton for about five years.

The people smuggling network was investigated by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

An investigating officer for SOCA said: "The length of sentence is always down to the judge, but this has been a five-year investigation and we are pleased to have secured a conviction."