Migrant who piloted packed dinghy nailed by his selfie

A MIGRANT has been jailed after selfies he took during his crossing were used to convict him of piloting a small boat across the Channel.

Reda Hamoud Abdurabou, 25, was handed three years and two months after being found guilty of assisting unlawful immigration to the UK and attempting to enter the country illegally.

Abdurabou took charge of a small boat packed with 50 migrants during an attempt to reach Britain illegally last July, Salisbury Crown Court was told.

He took pictures of himself as he did so, saving images to his phone that would later be used as evidence by the Home Office’s criminal and financial investigations unit.

The images, taken moments before the dinghy was intercepted by Border Force officials, show Abdurabou posing with his hand on the tiller as he steered it towards the UK. Officers saw migrants balancing on the edge of the inflatable, with others sitting on the floor.

Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, said: “This pilot brazenly tried to flout our laws and has rightly been brought to justice today. Putting lives at risk by steering men, women and children across the Channel in flimsy dinghies will not be tolerated.”

Abdurabou, who was witnessed piloting the boat before it was intercepted, was arrested on arrival in the UK and his mobile phone seized.

Investigating teams found messages on his phone about his attempt to reach the UK illegally, along with the selfies taken as he piloted the boat.

One picture showed him wearing a yellow hoodie and a baseball cap and sitting perilously close to the waterline at the stern of the boat.

The Illegal Migration Act will mean the Home Office giving immigration officers powers to search for and seize electronic devices such as mobiles from people who come to the UK illegally, including to obtain evidence of criminal offences and establish whether someone has the right to be in Britain.

Chris Foster, the deputy director of criminal and financial investigations at the Home Office, said: “This defendant gloated as he risked dozens of lives by crossing the Channel illegally. Anyone willing to take the helm of these small boats can expect to be arrested and

Reda Hamoud Abdurabou’s selfie clinched his unlawful immigration conviction