People smugglers 'crammed' migrants in car boot

Two migrants were found in the boot of a car driving towards the Channel Tunnel

Three members of a people-smuggling ring who tried to sneak two Afghan nationals into the UK by cramming them into the boot of a car have been jailed.

Rashida Ayub, a 69-year-old pensioner from Wythenshawe, was stopped by UK border patrol in the French town of Coquelles as she drove the vehicle towards the Channel Tunnel in 2017.

She was jailed for four years after she was found guilty at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester of facilitating a breach of immigration law.

Afghan nationals Jumagaul Mohamadi, 57, and Wshiar Sarteep, 31 were also jailed for the same offence after investigators tracked both men down using Ayub's financial records.

'Total disregard for safety'

Mohamadi was given a three year and six month sentence, while Sarteep was jailed for two years and six months after a trial that had been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The court heard Ayub had been stopped during a border search while heading for the UK, when two Afghan nationals were found in the boot and Ayub was arrested.

The 69-year-old's mobile phone and financial data was used by police to identify Mohamadi and Sarteep as other members of the smuggling operation.

Paul Moran from the Home Office said "thousands of pounds" had been exchanged to smuggle the migrants into the UK with "total disregard for their safety and welfare".

"They were crammed inside the boot to allow it to close," he said.

“As with many smuggling operations we encounter, the sole priority of these criminals is financial gain, at the expense of those they exploit under false promises."