Men convicted of smuggling Albanians into marina

The two defendants denied trying to smuggle five men into England via Shotley Marina, but were found guilty by a jury

Two men have been convicted of smuggling a group of Albanian men into a marina in Suffolk.

Karolis Laurinavicius, 40, of Lea Road in Waltham Abbey, Essex, and Tomas Venclauskas, 41, of Arboretum View, Lincoln, were found guilty of assisting unlawful immigration.

Ipswich Crown Court heard how the pair drove a powerboat from Southampton to Belgium and picked up five men before returning to England via Shotley Marina, where they were caught by Border Force officers.

Judge Martyn Levett said he would sentence the defendants on Friday.

"The sentences I am going to impose will have a deterrent element to them," he said, as he addressed the two men.

The trial heard that Border Force was called to the marina in Shotley Gate, across the estuary from the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich, at 21:25 BST on 15 April.

Officer Madeline Klingsick said the two defendants were stood on the pontoon when her team arrived and a third man - who has never been identified - ran away, before five men were found in a cabin.

Of the five Albanians, one was 17 years old - she said - and that "some if not all had been previously refused entry into the UK".

Prosecutors say Shotley Marina was chosen as an easier location to offload the Albanian men

Mr Laurinavicius told the court he had no knowledge of the Albanian men and that he and Mr Venclauskas had not meant to travel to Belgium.

He told jurors he was "celebrating" the purchase of the boat in Southampton, while sailing to Lincolnshire, but he was drinking beer onboard and fell asleep.

Mr Venclauskas lost the coast, he explained, and they ended up mooring at a marina in Belgium.

Mr Laurinavicius said he and his co-defendant later sailed back towards England "shock and stressed" while experiencing engine trouble before choosing Shotley as a place to stop because it was closest.

Mr Venclauskas, who first came to England about two decades and has known Mr Laurinavicius since childhood, also said they had not planned to go to Belgium.

He told the jury he did not see anyone else get on their boat in Belgium.

But, after just four hours of deliberation, jurors returned a unanimous guilty verdict for both defendants.