LONDON (AFP) – A British court jailed three men involved in a network smuggling migrants to the United Kingdom (UK) in small boats from mainland Europe, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
Briton Desmond Rice and Albanians Banet Tershana and Klodian Shenaj were jailed for up to five years at the Nottingham Crown Court in central England after pleading guilty to assisting unlawful immigration.
Tershana was “the organiser, financier and collected payment from migrants”, while Shenaj acted as “the conduit” between facilitators in Europe and the UK, the NCA’s Derek Evans said.
Rice and another Albanian, Jetmir Myrtaj, who will be sentenced on August 29, were “integral to facilitating the crossings”, Evans added.
Police are also searching for another man, who was charged and due to face trial but is believed to have fled abroad.
The group was responsible for a number of boat crossings from France and Belgium in October 2022, the NCA said.
It added that during an attempted crossing from Belgium two other men were arrested and will be prosecuted in the country.
The convictions come as the government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to end the dangerous crossings across the English Channel following an uptick in arrivals in recent years.
