Pair jailed for attempt to smuggle migrants out of UK

Tarik Slimani and Driss Hasska were sentenced to a combined 54 months in prison

Two men have been jailed for attempting to smuggle migrants out of the UK to France in the back of the lorry.

Tarik Slimani, 47, from north London, was sentenced to 22 months in prison and Driss Hasska, 54, from Italy, was given a 32-month sentence.

The pair met at a bus stop in Kent on 4 August 2023 where they transferred migrants from Slimani's hire van into the trailer of Hasska's lorry, the court heard.

John Turner, National Crime Agency (NCA) operations manager, said the sentences were "a clear warning" that anyone involved in facilitating illegal migration would be "caught and put behind bars".

NCA officers said they searched Hasska's lorry at a service station near Maidstone and found eight men and a woman inside.

Shortly after, Slimani arrived at the services and the duo were arrested and taken to police custody.

The migrants, all of North African origin, were allegedly being taken to France in a bid to avoid immigration controls, said the NCA.

In an interview Slimani claimed he was driving to Ashford to collect a coffee table when he stopped at the bus stop alongside the lorry to go to the toilet.

He said that by the time he returned to his van he couldn’t remember the exact location of where he was going, so began driving home before stopping at the services to go to the toilet again.

In a prepared statement given to officers, Hasska claimed he had no knowledge of the migrants in his trailer.

Both men appeared at Maidstone Crown Court on 18 April for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to facilitating illegal entry into an EU country.

Mr Turner added: “A meticulous NCA investigation foiled this smuggling attempt, and our work to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved in this activity is relentless.”