People smugglers hid migrant in car boot full of booze

A PAIR of people smugglers hid an illegal migrant in their car boot full of cheap alcohol they bought in France.

Driver Jason Palmer, 41, and Richard Giles, 39, were stopped by Border Force officials at the tunnel entrance in Coquelles, France, on May 20 last year.

When questioned by the officers, Palmer said he had driven to France with Giles to buy wine, beer and cigarettes.

But when officers searched the boot of his Vauxhall Mokka car they discovered a Vietnamese migrant hidden behind boxes of alcohol.

The pair were arrested and were questioned by Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigation officers. During his interview, Palmer claimed he had left Wales on the morning of May 19 to travel to Calais via the Channel Tunnel to buy alcohol for a family party.

He claimed to have stayed at a hotel near Coquelles before leaving to catch an early train home.

He said he had locked the vehicle each time he left and could not account for how the migrant had entered the vehicle.

Giles declined to answer any questions about the incident.

Forensic evidence from Giles’ phone revealed suspicious text messages sent to and received from an unknown person detailing the hotel, the make of the car, colour and registration.

Palmer, of New Road, Rumney, and Giles, of Pittsfield Place, Cardiff, were found guilty of assisting unlawful immigration into the UK at Canterbury Crown Court and were sentenced on Friday to three years imprisonment and two years and six months imprisonment respectively.

The illegal migrant found in the vehicle, who claimed he was from Vietnam, was passed to the French Police Aux Frontieres.

Speaking after the sentencing, Director of Border Force South East and Europe Paul Morgan said: “Border Force works in close partnership with other UK and French law enforcement agencies to secure the border in northern France, the result of which is that it is one of the most secure in Europe.

“We will continue to work to ensure that people smugglers and traffickers, whose actions so often put the lives of others at risk, face the full consequences of their crimes.”

Assistant Director David Fairclough, from Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigation, said: “The telephone messages, considered in conjunction with the fact that the Vietnamese man could not have accessed the vehicle without help, left us with a strong case that Palmer and Giles were willing participants in this attempt to breach the UK’s border controls.

“I hope their convictions send a clear message to anyone tempted to get involved with this kind of criminality – you will be caught and brought before the courts.

“We work closely with Border Force colleagues to rigorously investigate allegations of immigration related criminality.”