Human traffickers who were caught trying to smuggle Indian migrants into Britain in the back of a squalid van compartment have been jailed.
Shocking photographs from inside the truck show the four men crouching among huge piles of dirty tyres and behind a white screen.
They were discovered without access to clean air and sat on a filthy mattress, surrounded by banana peels, sweet wrappers and bottles of Coke in what officials described as ‘squalid and dangerous conditions’.
Smugglers Shafaz Khan and Choudhry Rashied, who operated under the alias ‘Manzar Mian Attique’, were finally snared by Border Force when they were stopped at Newhaven Ferry Port.
The British nationals claimed to have travelled to the UK from Belgium, while CCTV traced them to a local cafe – where they had met to mastermind the trafficking operation.
The pair were sentenced to a combined total of 10 years and 6 months in prison, as they appeared in Isleworth Crown Court yesterday.
Both Khan, 55, of Feltham, and Rashied, 58, from Southall, face five years and three months for conspiring to facilitate illegal entry into the UK.
Shocking photographs from inside the truck show the four men crouching among huge piles of dirty tyres and behind a white screen
They were discovered without access to clean air and sat on a filthy mattress
They were surrounded by banana peels, sweet wrappers and bottles of Coke in what officials described as ‘squalid and dangerous conditions’
Both Khan, 55, of Feltham (left) and Rashied, 58, from Southall (right) face five years and three months for conspiring to facilitate illegal entry into the UK
Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: ‘This case displays the lengths people smugglers will go to to disguise their criminal activity.
‘These smugglers exploited a group of individuals by putting them into an unsafe and unlawful situation for their own financial gain.
‘Our skilled investigators are working tirelessly to protect our borders as part of our Plan for Change and that starts with dismantling the people smuggling networks who put lives at risk and undermine our border security.
‘Alongside the major step up in enforcement action and integral co-operation with key partners we are also investing £150 million of funding into our new Border Security Command to disrupt the criminal smuggling gangs profiting from risking lives.’
A Home Office investigation found that the pair had hired the van exclusively so they could smuggle migrants into the UK.
They used burner phones in an attempt to hide their crimes from the authorities.
Chris Foster, Immigration Enforcement Regional Lead continued: ‘Both Khan and Rashied sold these vulnerable individuals a dream and promised them a safe journey and prosperous life in the UK, which was far from the truth.
The pair were sentenced to a combined total of 10 years and 6 months in prison, as they appeared in Isleworth Crown Court yesterday
A Home Office investigation found that the pair had hired the van exclusively so they could smuggle migrants into the UK
They used burner phones in an attempt to hide their crimes from the authorities
They had erected a white screen at the back of the lorry to hide the migrants from view
‘The people smuggling gangs are playing with people’s lives and undermining our border security, we will not just watch on.
‘We are stepping up our enforcement efforts to break the business model of the criminal networks that operate in the UK and Europe.
‘The sentencing sends a clear message to the criminals, if you get involved in people smuggling, you’re likely to spend a lengthy time behind bars.
‘I would like to pay tribute to the hard work of my team, and their tireless efforts to take down the criminal gangs who profit from this evil trade.’
