Van driver convicted of smuggling migrants found screaming for help on ferry
A van driver has been found guilty of smuggling migrants in a hidden compartment who were discovered screaming for help as they were starved of oxygen.
Anas Al Mustafa, 43, has been convicted of assisting unlawful migration by trafficking the seven people in a specially-adapted van via a ferry between Dieppe, in France, and Newhaven, East Sussex, on February 16.
The discovery at the East Sussex port sparked a major emergency services response, with ambulances, police and Border Force in attendance.
Jurors at Lewes Crown Court heard how the six men and one woman were being starved of oxygen and suffering from dehydration in the concealed space which was “the width of a human chest”.
After the jury’s unanimous verdict, prosecutor Nick Corsellis KC told the court that while the younger migrants recovered from the dehydration and heat, one man had a possible heart attack, one woman had acute kidney injury and another man went to hospital in a comatose state and suffered a stroke.
Judge Christine Laing KC said Al Mustafa would likely receive a “substantial custodial sentence” over his role in the trade, the consequences of which can be “devastating” for those trying to enter the country.
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