A truck driver arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle four migrants, including an Indian man, out of Britain has been charged following an investigation by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA).
Marius Halmaghe, 35, from Romania has been charged with facilitating the commission of a breach or an attempted breach of immigration law by persons who were not citizens of the European Union (EU).
The four migrants, including one Indian, one Egyptian and two Bangladeshi men aged between 30-39, were also arrested on suspicion of illegal entry and are being processed by the UK Home Office immigration enforcement.
“Criminal groups involved in people smuggling do not care about the safety or wellbeing of those they transport. They just see them as a commodity to be profited from,” said NCA branch commander Andy Noyes.
“We are determined to do all we can to disrupt their activities. In this case four individuals have been prevented from making what was undoubtedly a dangerous journey," he said.
The NCA said the discovery came to light when a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) was stopped by its officers with the support of police colleagues just outside the port of Dover in Kent, on the south-east coast of England, last week.
The officers found the four illegal migrants in the rear of the truck during their search.
“They were all suspected of having been in the UK illegally and were handed to the immigration authorities to be dealt with,” the NCA said.
It remains unclear as to which destination out of the UK the illegal migrants were headed towards.
Halmaghe has been produced before Folkestone Magistrates Court in Kent and remains to be sentenced.
Workers clean communication equipment aboard INS Surat on January 11