A PAIR of vile people smugglers have been put behind bars for more than a decade after they were caught trying to sneak men into the UK crammed underneath a pile of dirty tyres.
Pictures show the squalid conditions created by the criminals to rake in huge profits by attempting to hide four Indian men in a makeshift den.
Their plan was busted after they were stopped by Border Force officers who uncovered their hastily constructed hide in their van and the four migrants.
The pair had driven from Belgium, Chris Foster, Criminal and Financial Investigation lead for the Home Office, told The Sun that his team are cracking down on people smugglers who attempt to profit from illegally bringing migrants into Britain.
British nationals Shafaz Khan and Choudhry Rashied were handed hefty prison terms today being found guilty at Isleworth Crown Court earlier this year.
The pair’s dangerous operation was quickly shut down by the Home Office when they were stopped by Border Force officers at Newhaven Ferry Port.
Khan told the officers that they were travelling back from Belgium and the rear of their van contained used tyres.
But when officers searched the back of the van, they got more than they bargained for, with a group of migrants discovered in squalid and dangerous conditions hidden behind the heavy tyres with no access to clean air.
Phone analysis revealed the gang had assigned ‘burner’ phones to each other to help conceal their crimes, whilst CCTV traced the pair to a local cafe where they met to plan their crime.
Chris Foster, Immigration Enforcement Regional Lead told The Sun: “These people were held in squalid conditions in the backof a van driven by Khan.
“They built a makeshift frame, almost like a hide at the back of the van, made out of wood, and it put these four men inside on a mattress and had put used car tyres up in front to shield them from view so authorities wouldn’t spot them.
“But unfortunately for Khan and Rashied Border Force when they encountered the van pulled all of the tyres back and found these four men. These four men are vulnerable. They were brought to this country illegally.
“That type of work and that type of event is exactly what we’re trying to bear down on in the Home Office. It was all about making a profit at the expense of people’s safety.
“This is a global issue. We see it on our TV screens every day of the week. These criminal gangs will take advantage of any opportunity to undermine our immigration rules, to breach our borders.
“That will be happening right across northern Europe, no doubt. The Home Office is really doubling its efforts to bear down on those criminal gangs.
He added: “In the last six months, we’ve seen our Home Office raids that we’re doing in immigration enforcement increased by 26 per cent, and our arrests are up by a further 20 per cent.
“That’s a real testament to the amount of resources and efforts that have been put into this problem.
“Working with our partners abroad is absolutely central to this.”
Khan, 55, from Feltham, was sentenced to 5 years and 3 months for conspiring to facilitate illegal entry into the UK.
Rashied, 58, from Southall, sentenced to 5 years and 3 months for the same offence.
Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: “This case displays the lengths people smugglers will go to to disguise their criminal activity.
“These smugglers exploited a group of individuals by putting them into an unsafe and unlawful situation for their own financial gain.
“Our skilled investigators are working tirelessly to protect our borders as part of our Plan for Change and that starts with dismantling the people smuggling networks who put lives at risk and undermine our border security.
“Alongside the major step up in enforcement action and integral co-operation with key partners we are also investing £150 million of funding into our new Border Security Command to disrupt the criminal smuggling gangs profiting from risking lives.”
