The conviction comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper meet with the services responsible for combating
“people smuggling gangs”.
Anas Al Mustafa was convicted of having
“crammed into a tiny, overheated hiding place in the back of his van”
seven migrants (six men and one woman)
“terrified”
, details the ministry’s press release, which specifies that the events date back to February.
This father of two, originally from Syria but residing in the United Kingdom, was found guilty at the end of August of having
“facilitated the violation of British immigration law”.
The migrants and the smuggler, who had left from the port of Dieppe (northern France), had been discovered by ferry staff at the port of Newhaven (southern England).
“His victims were denied access to clean air, food and water for hours,” the ministry wrote. According to the source, one of the migrants suffered a stroke.
“This evil criminal put the lives of seven people at risk for money (…) We cannot allow these criminal gangs to continue to put lives at risk. That is why we are taking decisive action against them,” said Angela Eagle, Secretary of State for Border Security and Asylum.
On Tuesday, at least twelve migrants died when their boat sank as they tried to reach England.
Elected in July, Keir Starmer’s Labour government has promised to tackle illegal immigration by increasing the number of migrant deportations and combating “people smuggling gangs”.
He thus promised to deal with the immigration issue
“with humanity”
but to reduce the number of immigrants, legal and illegal.
This article is originally published on .yenisafak.com
