People smuggler who put Vietnamese trio in car’s roof box gets three years
A MAN who tried to smuggle three Vietnamese nationals into the UK crammed into the roof box of his car has been jailed for three years.
The three people, including a 15-year-old girl, were discovered when officers stopped the car and forced open the box.
Irishman Robert Rooney, 35, of Edmonton Green, London, pleaded guilty to facilitating a breach of the UK’s immigration laws and was sentenced yesterday at Canterbury Crown Court.
Dan Scully, Border Force regional director, said this type of smuggling was “incredibly dangerous” and put lives at risk.
Pictures released by the Home Office show how cramped conditions were inside the box.
The Vietnamese nationals were discovered on October 5, 2019 at Coquelles, France, after Rooney’s car was pulled aside by Border Force officers in the UKcontrolled zone.
Rooney was asked to open the roof box but claimed he had lost the keys.
However officers partially forced it open and saw there were people inside.
Rooney was arrested on suspicion of assisting illegal entry into the UK and when officers searched him they found two keys to the roof box. Mr Scully said: “Crammed into a confined space inside the roof box must have been terrifying.
“It is thanks to the vigilance of Border Force officers that they were discovered and Rooney was caught.
“Border Force officers will continue to work with law-enforcement colleagues here and in France to ensure smugglers face the full consequences of their crimes.”
Deputy director Dave Fairclough, from Immigration Enforcement, said: “Rooney deliberately placed three people in an extremely precarious situation.”