Cross-Channel van driver jailed for smuggling 11 people
- Published
A group of 11 Albanian nationals were found in the back of a van near the Channel Tunnel in France
A man found with 11 Albanian nationals in his van near the Channel Tunnel entrance in France has been jailed.
Peter Martin, 51, was stopped by border officers in Coquelles in 2016 and said he had been buying beer for a party.
When they opened the Ford Transit's back door, they found most of the space was taken up by 10 men and a woman.
Martin, whose last known address was Peter Bruff Avenue, Clacton, was found guilty of people smuggling and jailed for five and a half years.
He went missing after he appeared at Canterbury Crown Court in May 2017 but was later arrested at an address in Ipswich.
Peter Martin claimed a gang had threatened to kill him if he did not smuggle the group to the UK
At the start of his trial, he admitted attempting to smuggle people to the UK but said he had acted under duress and pleaded not guilty.
He told the court an unidentified Albanian gang had threatened to kill him and his immediate family if he did not collect the people from France and bring them to the UK.
A jury took less than an hour to find him guilty of assisting unlawful immigration.
David Fairclough, from the UK's Immigration Enforcement, said: "This was an unsophisticated attempt to smuggle people into the UK illegally.
"Martin knew what he was doing was wrong and contrary to his claims, was not acting under duress."