A small boat pilot has been jailed after crossing the Channel with more than 50 migrants in a perilously overcrowded dinghy
Choul Phan Maker, 31, was caught piloting a vessel packed with 52 endangered passengers, many of whom were forced to stand on makeshift flooring.
He was photographed by Border Force officials grinning with his hand on the tiller, as he brazenly steered the boat towards UK shores on 15 August last year.
Maker, from South Sudan, had previously been ordered to leave France after being caught attempting to enter the UK in a lorry.
He then spent more than 3 years in Europe, before travelling from Malta for his latest attempt to cross the Channel.
Criminal and Financial Investigation officers identified Maker as the boat’s pilot and started gathering evidence to support his conviction.
He was subsequently arrested and admitted to piloting the boat, telling officers that he had been offered the job by the criminal gang who facilitated the journey.
Maker was sentenced at Winchester Crown court yesterday. He received a sentence of 1 year and 8 months for unlawful arrival and 10 months for assisting unlawful immigration, to be served concurrently.
Illegal Migration Minister Michael Tomlinson said:
The criminal gangs behind these crossings don’t care if people live or die, as long as they pay, but they rely on migrants who are willing to steer their deadly crossings through the water. Putting lives at risk by taking charge of these dangerous, illegal and completely unnecessary crossing attempts will not be tolerated and it is right that this pilot has been brought to justice today.
This follows recent action to clamp down on people smugglers. At Cheltenham Crown Court last month a man was jailed for 3 years after crowding 6 Vietnamese and 1 Syrian inside a van. The same month, a man was jailed at Ipswich Town Court for 2 years and 8 months after attempting to smuggle people in a dangerously overcrowded yacht.
Small boat crossings fell by 36% last year, as arrival numbers into Europe from Africa soared by more than 70%, thanks to decisive government action to crack down on people-smuggling gangs and deter migrants from crossing the Channel.
Steve Blackwell, Deputy Director of Criminal and Financial Investigations at the Home Office, said:
This pilot thought nothing of endangering dozens of lives in order to make his own illegal journey to the UK. I’m thankful for the quick work of my investigating officers which has led to us bringing this criminal to justice. His sentence shows that anyone caught piloting these dinghies can expect to be arrested and prosecuted.