People smuggling: Man hid woman behind car dashboard

A Vietnamese woman was found behind the glovebox of Jozef Balog's car

A man has been jailed for trying to smuggle an illegal immigrant across the Channel behind the dashboard of a car.

Jozef Balog, from Slovakia, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years at Canterbury Crown Court for assisting unlawful immigration.

In June 2022, Balog was stopped at the border on his return from France.

He told officers he had been visiting family but upon inspection of his vehicle a Vietnamese woman was found cramped inside a tiny hideaway.

Suspicions were raised when UK Border Force officials in Coquelles, northern France, noticed that the carpet in the passenger footwell was further forward than usual.

Upon removing the glovebox, officers discovered the woman who was found to be an illegal immigrant, the National Crime Agency said.

The vehicle had been modified and parts removed to create the tiny concealment, the National Crime Agency said

Steve Blackwell, deputy director of criminal and financial investigations at the Home Office, said: "This is a truly shocking case that shows the disregard these criminals have for the lives and safety of the vulnerable people.

"We have once again shown that those who seek to exploit our border will be caught and brought to justice."

Balog, of Constable Street, Manchester, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing in June 2022.

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