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.
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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.
