A Londoner who attempted to traffic five people into the UK including a five-year-old child has been jailed.
Joshua Bynoe crammed the migrants from Afghanistan into a tiny cabin hidden in a motorhome.
His vehicle was searched in Coquelles, France by Border Force officials on Monday January 24, 2019 and they found five people concealed inside storage benches in “cramped claustrophobic conditions”.
Bynoe was arrested at the scene and taken into custody by Kent Police.
The 29-year-old, from Walthamstow, was sentenced to three years in prison on Friday for assisting unlawful immigration following a trial at Canterbury Crown Court.
The court heard Bynoe had links to a people smuggling gang and had concocted a scheme to traffic the migrants in the storage compartments from Europe into the UK.
The Home Office’s head of south east region criminal and financial investigations, Steve Blackwell, said: “Today’s sentencing shows that perpetrators of immigration crimes will be dealt with and prosecuted regardless of where they are located.
“Bynoe recklessly put the lives of five people, including a child, in danger by cramming them into a vehicle for hours.
“His only concern was making money, working with a smuggling gang with no thought for the vulnerable people they were exploiting. He was stopped in his tracks and will now face justice for his criminal actions.
“I’d like to thank my investigation team, particularly the OIC – Stacey Crockford, for their hard work on this case. We will continue pursue people smugglers who try to undermine our border security and put lives at risk for profit.”
He left migrants screaming and gasping for air after cramming them into a tiny concealed space in his van.
Staff at Newhaven Ferry Port discovered seven terrified people stuffed into the two-metre compartment of s vehicle earlier this year.
