LONDON (RNS) An African man who once sought asylum and set up his own church as a cover for smuggling illegal migrants into Britain has been sentenced to nine years in prison on 14 charges of violating immigration laws.
The Rev. Anthony Quarco built a reputation as a respectable pillar of society as the founder of the Gift of God Zion Training Church in Brixton, a suburb of London.
But a jury at Croydon Crown Court decided that Quarco used his church and jobs as an airport immigrations officer and a part-time policeman to smuggle hordes of illegal immigrants into Britain in exchange for about $216,000.
Prosecutors labeled him “the most dishonorable man in Britain” for issuing fake passports and charging immigrants — including church fundraisers and choir members — $6,000 for writing letters of support in their bids to settle in Britain.
“This image of the hardworking public servant, the religious man, who selflessly serves and protects this country, is nothing more than a front,” said trial prosecutor Jonathan Polnay.
Quarco claimed asylum in Britain in 1995 after arriving from Ethiopia carrying a Liberian identity card in the name of Mashudo Brisco Ndou.
He changed his name to Anthony Davis Quarco five years ago, when he became a British citizen and established the Gift of God Zion Training Church. Police arrested him a year ago.
