A Syrian people smuggler who hid seven migrants in a tiny, overheated space in the back of his van, leaving them starved of oxygen and screaming for help, has been jailed for 10 years.
Ferry staff discovered the migrants crammed into a specially-designed two-metre compartment in Anas Al Mustafa’s van, during a sailing to Newhaven Ferry Port, in East Sussex, in February.
The trial at Lewes Crown Court previously heard how the migrants, some of whom were left seriously injured, are lucky to be alive.
The court was told how crew members on the Seven Sisters ship heard pleas from inside a van on deck during the journey and used an axe to break down the fake partition that was hiding the people inside to free them.
The hidden compartment was the “width of a human chest”, forcing the migrants to stand and preventing them from moving to any meaningful degree.
They had no access to clean air, food or water for hours and two of the migrants had lost consciousness by the time they were rescued.
An Australian nurse and passenger on the ferry, Sari Gehle, responded to a call to assist the crew during the incident and described the female casualty as “terrified”, gripping her arm tightly repeatedly and saying “Vietnam, Vietnam”, so she understood the group were from there.
She recalled other male casualties on the floor, with one vomiting and another with a cut across his left shoulder.
The jury heard that while the younger migrants recovered from the dehydration and heat, one man had a possible heart attack, one woman had acute kidney injury and another man went to hospital in a comatose state and suffered a stroke.
The rest all required urgent hospital treatment for heat exhaustion and dehydration.
Their discovery at Newhaven sparked a major emergency services response, with ambulances, police and Border Force in attendance.
Al Mustafa, who was travelling on a ferry from Dieppe, France, to the UK at the time of the incident, was found guilty of facilitating the breach of UK immigration law by a unanimous jury at Lewes Crown Court last week.
During the trial, the 43-year-old father of two from Swansea denied knowing the migrants were in the vehicle and told jurors he was “shocked” and “completely numb” at the discovery. He said it was the “most difficult day of his life”.
The court previously heard how Al Mustafa, who moved to the UK around 2011, was introduced to a man called Badr the last time he was in Syria who said he needed him to do a job for him driving a van.
The prosecution had said that in a police interview with no interpreter Al Mustafa said he was paid £500 on a previous occasion to drive the van to get a vehicle safety test conducted in Liverpool, but for the February job he was being paid £5,000 to drive the van to the UK.
Migrants attempt to cross the Channel from Gravelines – in pictures
Jurors heard that Al Mustafa told police he did not know there were people in the van but because he was being paid £5,000 he thought “maybe this time there is people inside”.
Prosecutor Nick Corsellis KC asked the jury to consider whether this is a confession, adding: “We suggest that the defendant was not telling the full truth as to his involvement in the trafficking.”
When asked about the interview, Al Mustafa told jurors via an interpreter that the £5,000 sum was incorrect and he meant £500.
He also said he did not remember telling police he thought maybe people were in the van and did not know why he said that.
In sentencing, Judge Christine Laing KC said she rejected Al Mustafa claims and said she was “satisfied you were not a mere driver” in the operation.
She said the offence “compromises the economic and physical safety of the nation and all of its citizens”.
She added: “The safety of this country and every other is dependent on knowing who is living in it.
“Desperate people are prepared to risk their lives to come into the UK, often with tragic consequences. They are exploited by those who profit from this trade and pay little attention to their safety.”
Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said it is “a miracle” the seven people are still alive.
She added: “We cannot let these criminal gangs continue to put lives on the line, which is why we are taking decisive action against those who undermine our border security.
“Our new Border Security Command brings together hundreds of specialist investigators who are dedicated to tackling the criminal gangs upstream before they get a chance to operate in the UK.”
Home Office Criminal and Financial Investigations regional lead, Chris Foster, said the sentence sends a “clear message” to people smugglers that they will be brought to justice.
“My team are committed to staying one step ahead to make sure we stop them and protect lives.”
Earlier this week, a pregnant woman and six children were among 12 migrants who died after their dinghy “ripped open” while crossing the English Channel.
The new Labour government has vowed to “smash the gangs” running people smuggling operations, and has started working with Libyan police to halt Mediterranean crossings to Europe.
The UK National Crime Agency also recently increased the number of officers based at Europol who will work on organised immigration crime by 50 per cent.
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Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)
Saturday
Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Sunday
Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)
Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up
Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm
On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm
The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm
Romang, June 28 at 6pm
Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm
Underdog, June 29 at 2pm
Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm
A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Scores
Oman 109-3 in 18.4 overs (Aqib Ilyas 45 not out, Aamir Kaleem 27) beat UAE 108-9 in 20 overs (Usman 27, Mustafa 24, Fayyaz 3-16, Bilal 3-23)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh810,000