People traffickers used paprika to dupe dogs

People smugglers used paprika to stop sniffer dogs detecting illegal migrants, Home Office investigators revealed, as two ringleaders were each jailed for seven years.

Akan Brayan, of Nottingham, and Dylan Shwani, of Lincoln, smuggled 31 Iraqis, including a one-year-old child and pregnant woman, into the UK hidden in boxes in vans. They had sprinkled the spice in one vehicle to try to put off the scent dogs checking for illegal entrants at the border.

The 37-year-olds were found guilty at Nottingham Crown Court of recruiting drivers to hide migrants in vans and smuggling them into the UK between 2016 and 2018.