A 19-year-old has been charged with facilitating attempted illegal entry into the United Kingdom, Kent Police have said.
Ibrahima Bah, 19, of no fixed address was arrested on December 16 after four people died and 39 were rescued after a migrant boat capsized in the Channel on December 14.
A statement from Kent Police said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised a charge against Ibrahima Bah of knowingly facilitating the attempted arrival in the United Kingdom of people he knew or had reasonable cause to believe were asylum seekers.
“The 19-year-old, of no fixed address, was remanded in custody and will appear before Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on Monday, December 19.”
A major rescue operation off the Kent coast began at 2.16am on Wednesday after reports of a boat in distress, with the Royal Navy, French navy, Coastguard, RNLI lifeboats, ambulance service and police involved.
The circumstances surrounding the deaths are being investigated by detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, assisted by the National Crime Agency.
Police are continuing to work to establish the identity of those who died and locate their next of kin.
