Isle of Wight men jailed for smuggling people into UK on yacht

From left to right: Christopher Barber, Jean-Pierre Labelle and Stephen Redhead were all jailed

Three men have been jailed for smuggling people across the English Channel on a yacht.

Jean-Pierre Labelle, Stephen Redhead and Christopher Barber were involved in two attempts to smuggle non-EU citizens between 1 January and 30 June 2020.

The men, all from the Isle of Wight, were all charged with conspiracy to facilitate unlawful entry into the UK.

Judge Timothy Mousley QC said each man played an "essential part in the illegal venture".

Labelle, whose address was given as Lewes Prison, was described as having a "significant" role in the operations, which involved sailing from Cowes to Cherbourg, France.

He was responsible for organising the trips while Redhead, of High Street, Shanklin, was hired to captain the yacht and Barber, of Landguard Road, Shanklin, was employed for his skills as a mechanic and engineer.

The men were sentenced at Newport Crown Court on the Isle of Wight

Newport Crown Court heard how between 17 and 19 March 2020 all three men sailed to Cherbourg on a 70ft (21m) yacht called Anore and travelled back to East Cowes Marina with 12 migrants from Albania.

A spokesperson for the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit confirmed the 12 migrants are "believed to have been in the UK" but were not found.

In June of the same year, Labelle also organised another trip on a yacht found by Redhead called Freedom.

The court heard it was intercepted by French Maritime Police, who found six Albanian citizens on board with two of Labelle's criminal associates. The two associates were prosecuted in France.

Judge Mousley said it was a case of "organised international crime on a large scale, which would have continued had the men not been detected".

He added the migrants travelling aboard the yachts would have been "vulnerable in different ways with uncertain futures ahead of them".

Jean-Pierre Labelle, 46, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to facilitate unlawful entry into the UK. He was jailed for eight years.

Stephen Redhead, 47, and Christopher Barber, 55, were found guilty by jury of the same charge and jailed for five years and three years respectively.