Man accused of people smuggling into UK jailed over casino trip
A Briton who used a motorhome to smuggle immigrants into the UK has been jailed after a casino receipt revealed his alibi was forged. Oozy Hughes, or also known as Mark Newton, could easily avoid detection if he kept a low profile during his travels in Belgium.
A UK government report states that in March 2018, UK border officers discovered the man hiding in a lorry intercepted at Harwich International Port in Essex. Driver Hughes claimed he hired the van to travel to Spain and then return to the UK by ferry from Santander.
Police decided to search the van for contraband. They discovered four hidden passengers who paid Hughes an undisclosed sum to take them from Albania to the UK. Hughes later tried to claim that an unknown person must have put them in his van.
The truth comes out
After Border Force found the four illegal immigrants, Hughes' misleading narrative continued to fall apart. Police found a casino receipt from northern Belgium in the van. This evidence suggests that he had been there that day and participated in the Fantasy Friday game. The temptation to compete for a 100-gram gold bar worth about $6,500 was apparently too great.
Subsequent investigation, including GPS data from the motorhome, revealed his travel route through Belgium to The Netherlands. The data also showed Hughes had rented the van two days earlier, further lending credence to claims he traveled to Spain.
The Home Office Criminal and Financial Investigation Team continues to seek evidence that contradicts Hughes's statements, further complicating the failure of his alibi. They found calls on his phone to a number linked to a Belgian "human trafficking" ring.
As a result, without the opportunity to deny the evidence, Hughes was charged with aiding and abetting unlawful entry into the UK. He pleaded guilty and a judge at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday sentenced him to 15 months in prison.
Human trafficking is spreading in the UK
Human trafficking and slavery are on the rise in the UK. In October, a British police officer based in Belgium was sentenced to 11 years in prison for allegedly organizing an operation to smuggle 10,000 people into the UK - all part of a wider European network, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA) .
Hewa Rahimpur runs the business from his home in Ilford, east London. From here he procured boats from Turkey and arranged for their transport to Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. He would then arrange for ships to cross the English Channel from northern France to England.
The NCA reports that the cost of surgery in Rahimpur ranges from $3,600 to $7,320 per person. Along with him, 19 others were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 30 months to eight years.
In 2015, border officers at the Harwich International Port discovered four trucks carrying 68 people during a routine inspection. The vehicles came from the Netherlands and people, including two pregnant women and several children, were trying to enter the country illegally.
Truck death in Essex still hits headlines
Although it was just one of many cases, the incident in Essex four years ago remains the most prominent. The Essex truck deaths were reported in October 2019 when the bodies of 39 Vietnamese migrants were found inside a refrigerated container in Grays, Essex, England.
They both died of asphyxiation in what prosecutors later described as "extremely painful" deaths. The incident shines a light on the dangers and exploitation faced by migrants trying to enter the UK illegally.
One driver, Maurice Robinson, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, as did five other drivers involved in the smuggling operation. When they are sentenced in 2021, they will receive sentences ranging from three to 20 years, depending on their roles.
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Source: www.casino.org
