I had 6 migrants in my lorry but when I reported it I was fined by Border Force – I’m paying for their mistakes

HARD-WORKING hauliers are being slammed with enormous fines for reporting stowaways found ­hidden in their trucks.

Now they have hit out at the “absolutely ridiculous” situation — insisting they are being targeted by professional gangs.

And they blasted the Home Office for letting them down as their businesses pay the price.

Truckers say they are being penalised by increasingly larger fines for unwittingly bringing in migrants from Europe to Dover and other UK ports.

Last month Northampton firm E.M. Rogers Transport said it had been fined £66,000 after six stowaways were found on one of its vehicles — the second fine it had received in seven months.

In a post shared on social media, company director Ed Rogers said: “UK Border Force is fining us. This is the same border force that can’t stop the boats we hear about arriving daily from across the ­Channel.”

He added that the 80-year-old ­family business was “the victim of organised gangs that target vulnerable lorry drivers while they sleep.”

Rogers revealed his company was fined £30,000 for the incident in November and the driver of the vehicle had to pay an additional £36,000.

The firm was slapped with a £15,000 fine, and one of its drivers was ordered to stump up £9,000, after three stowaways were found crossing from Calais to Dover in April 2023.

Two months earlier, the Government raised the penalty from £2,000 to £10,000 for each person illegitimately found on UK soil. Companies can also be charged up to £6,000 if trucks are not secured properly.

‘Honest grafters’

But hauliers say they are already going above and beyond the ­recommended requirements trying to prevent illegal crossings into the UK.

And they are being targeted by professional gangs determined to get migrants on board by any means.

Lorenzo Zaccheo, 68, managing director of haulier Alcaline, says he fears for the future of his company after being fined thousands for reporting migrants found hidden on lorries after unloading.

The Kent-based firm’s 227 articulated vehicles and trailers regularly travels between Europe and the UK.

Since the fines were increased 14 months ago, Alcaline has been hit with Border Force ­penalties initially totalling £54,500 despite ­securing their trucks and following official codes of conduct.

One incident in November 2023 resulted in a £24,000 fine when four stowaways were found.

Mr Zaccheo said: “We’ve opened up trailers at our yard and discovered families, women, even children, hiding. Sometimes they are squashed in between pallets.

“The Border Force checks at ports have failed to find them, but when we do the right thing and call police, we get fined by Border Force. They didn’t do their job properly but they don’t get a penalty for it — we do.

UK Border Force is fining us. This is the same border force that can’t stop the boats we hear about arriving daily from across the ­Channel

Ed Rogers, haulage firm boss

“We are accredited, strictly adhere to all regulations and codes of practice and have our own additional ­security protocols for drivers on top.

“We also make hundreds of cross-Channel journeys a month with no clandestines found on board, but when fines are imposed that ratio is not even considered.”

Alcaline makes around 4,000 yearly ferry crossings from Dover to Calais.

Despite securing its fleet with padlocks, cameras and trailer plates which contain unique serial numbers, combating ruthless gangs who prey on truckers at ports is “mission impossible”, according to Mr Zaccheo.

He explained: “They operate in ­supposedly secure parking areas, when lorries are queuing — even at petrol stations.

“They see UK plates and target the trucks. They can be violent and carry knives. It’s frightening.

“Often they cut holes to get in through the roof.

“Our drivers are mostly in their fifties. They can’t climb four metres up there to see if it’s been tampered with while they slept.

“They aren’t police officers or ­security guards. They are honest ­grafters trying to earn a living.”

In the final quarter of 2023, 3,117 migrants were detected in the UK outside of ports having evaded border controls. The true figure is likely to be higher as many others entered the country undetected.

Home Office figures show a recent increase in migrants smuggled into the UK in vehicles or ferries, as the Government clamps down on small boat crossings.

Following the illegal migration act, passed in July 2023, arrivals to the UK by any irregular method are placed into detention centres or accommodation prior to deportation.

Economic assessments suggest it costs £169,000 to deport each person.

Dominic Graham, 55, quality and insurance manager at Alcaline, said: “They say they are stopping the boats, but it’s laughable. All that’s doing is pushing the ­problem on to us, then we get ­penalised for it.

“Why are these fines being imposed on us when we’ve followed all the rules and done everything we can?

“Border Force should be protecting us. Instead, by paying out we’re ­protecting them.”

Alcaline is now considering legal action against the Government.

‘We live in fear’

Kevin Hopper is managing director of Brian Yeardley, a family haulage firm based in Featherstone, West Yorks. Founded in 1975, the ­company employs 70 drivers and ­specialises in UK and European cargo as well as live event logistics.

He said his drivers, many of whom have been with the company for decades, are terrified of being fined and fearful of gangs at ports.

My drivers have had rocks thrown at them and even machetes pulled. They aren’t in the SAS

Kevin Hopper, haulage firm boss

Kevin, 66, explained: “We have spent thousands installing maximum security measures such as padlocks, panic buttons and deadlocks.

“Our vehicles have air con so drivers can sleep with the windows shut. We pay for secure parking.

“All drivers are trained to follow procedures and do their checks.

“Anything we can possibly do we’ve done. But the immigrants still get in.

“I don’t even blame the front line Border Force staff — they are just ­following orders. But we are getting no support and no protection.

“My drivers have had rocks thrown at them and even machetes pulled. They aren’t in the SAS.

“These are honest, tax-paying people with families, and we’re a family business. It’s appalling.

“It’s all very well the Government saying it is stopping the boats, but if they aren’t on the water, the immigrants are still in Calais, or Dunkirk or Boulogne trying to get on trucks.

“Haulage is all I know but it feels like we’ve been forgotten. The people making the rules have no clue.

“So far we haven’t discovered any undetected migrants, but we live in fear of it. How am I supposed to sleep at night knowing hauliers are being fined ruinous amounts like £100,000 and we could be next?”

The Road Haulage Association is demanding clarity from the government that its Civil Penalty Accreditation Scheme, which is supposed to help ensure firms have good systems in place to stop ­“clandestine entrants” from boarding. Fines for members of the free-to-join scheme are halved.

Ashton Cull, public affairs manager for the Road Haulage Association said: “We support efforts to crack down on people-smuggling and to prevent stowaways breaking into UK-bound vehicles.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “We are relentless in our pursuit of those who seek to enter the UK illegally, and stand ready to respond robustly to clandestine arrivals. Far too many vehicles are not adequately secured to stop migrants boarding.

“That’s why, in the last 12 months, we have strengthened the haulier civil penalty with significantly increased financial penalties to ensure that drivers are taking every reasonable step to deter illegal migration and disrupt people smugglers.”

But hauliers say they are already doing everything they can.

Kevin Hopper said: “Where is the logic and justice? Each case needs to be considered individually before businesses are destroyed.

“Don’t just use the system to fine us. Listen to us and we can help.”