Two Britons jailed for cross-Channel people smuggling attempt

(theguardian)- Two Britons who attempted to smuggle 13 Albanian men and a child across the Channel in a small motor boat have been jailed.

The boat owner, Jonathan Bridgeman, 42, was sentenced at Lewes crown court to two-and-a-half years in prison for assisting unlawful immigration into the UK, while Deshan Laci, 35, was sentenced to three years in prison for the same charge, the Home Office said.

After setting off from Brighton marina, the men docked in Dieppe for a few hours before setting off on the return journey to the UK at about midnight on 15 November 2014.

Bridgeman, of Burgess Hill, West Sussex, was caught after the vessel, named Sea Paz, got into difficulty outside the entrance to Sovereign Harbour, in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

The harbour master towed the boat into the marina and, once docked, the passengers tried to flee but were detained by harbour staff and police. Laci evaded capture.

Laci, a British citizen of Albanian birth from Ridge Langley, south Croydon, was later found to be the owner of a car wash in Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, and immigration enforcement officers discovered a man working there illegally during a raid on 15 February 2015.

Bridgeman pleaded guilty at Lewes crown court on 23 October 2015 and Laci admitted the charge on 2 September.

Twelve of the migrants have been removed from the UK and one has a pending asylum application with the Home Office. The child had been handed over to social services.

The former car wash employee has also been deported and the business has been served with a civil penalty.

Assistant director Dave Fairclough, from the immigration enforcement criminal investigations team, said: “These convictions show how different agencies are working together effectively to secure our borders.

“It is thanks to the prompt action of the harbour staff, the swift response of the police and the thorough investigation subsequently conducted by my immigration enforcement officers that Bridgeman and Laci have been brought to justice.