UK court orders extradition of Sri Lankan trafficking suspect

• The extradition was ordered by a Judge in France, where Sivagankan was convicted in absentia last year

The UK court has ordered the extradition of a Sri Lankan man accused of running a people-trafficking ring while employed at a chicken shop in France.  

Sathasivam Sivagankan, 58, a refugee granted asylum in Britain, allegedly organized clandestine Channel crossings from his rented home, as revealed in court documents.  

A judge has now ordered the father of two’s extradition to France, where last year he was convicted of people smuggling and given a five-year jail term in his absence, the Sun reported.  

Sivagankan had been granted indefinite leave to remain in Britain after fleeing the war in Sri Lanka in 2003 with his wife and sons, who are UK citizens.  

The 58-year-old Tamil, of Colliers Wood, South West London, was working part-time at Morley’s chicken shop in Brixton — and receiving universal credits, according to documents.  

But he was also a ringleader in a gang which smuggled Sri Lankans into several European countries over two years.  
Fourteen people were accused of involvement.  

One Channel crossing was thwarted in June 2021.  

Sivagankan, who has no UK convictions, was first arrested in London in March 2022 on behalf of French authorities.