People smuggler to be extradited to France

Chan was a 'big player' in the international people smuggling network

A people smuggler who went on the run is to be extradited after being found in East Sussex.

Khanh Chan, 41, also known as Khanh Ngoc Nguyen, was convicted in France of being part of a Vietnamese gang that smuggled migrants into the UK.

National Crime Agency inspectors traced him to Bexhill-on-Sea in January.

Westminster magistrates placed an extradition order on Chan and remanded him in custody until he is returned to France.

After going on the run he was convicted in his absence by a French court of smuggling people between 2015 and 2017.

He is to serve an eight-year prison sentence there.

National Crime Agency inspectors arrested Khanh Chan in January

As part of the smuggling operation people would be transported through France, then hidden in lorries through the Channel ports into the UK.

Steve Reynolds, NCA head of organised immigration crime operations, said at the time of Chan's arrest that he was a "significant player" in the gang.

"People smugglers treat migrants like a commodity, and the tragic events last year in Essex demonstrated how little care for their safety these kinds of gangs have."