Police discover 21 migrants huddled in refrigerated lorry in Sussex

  07 November 2018    Read: 1302
Police discover 21 migrants huddled in refrigerated lorry in Sussex

British authorities made a startling discovery on Wednesday after twenty-one migrants were found hidden in a refrigerated lorry in Sussex. Many of the migrants were minors, authorities said.

British police found the six adults and fifteen minors — some as young as 12 years old — among a shipment of sparkling water containers at Newhaven Port. The lorry had been stopped after arriving from Dieppe, a port city in France. 

All stowaways are believed to have come from Vietnam and were unharmed. Some of the children were cold, but did not need medical treatment, with social services taking them in. 

An 18-year-old man and 27-year old woman have been deported, while a woman and three men remain at immigration detention centers. 

Andrut Mihai Duma, 29, was arrested and charged with assisting unlawful entry into the UK. Mr. Duma has been taken into custody and will stand trial at a hearing at Lewes Crown Court on November 26. The impending court case will determine what happens with the remaining migrants. 

Police discovered a similar incident after two Ukrainian nationals were found guilty of assisting unlawful immigration in May last year. 

Vladyslav Kurtoglu, 50, and his accomplice, 29-year-old Dmitryo Kruik were caught smuggling six Ukrainian migrants on their yacht.  

A Border Force Coastal Patrol vessel intercepted the yacht, which was en route to the UK from Barfleur, France, near Hayling Island and escorted it to Sparkes Marina. 

Both men had no fixed British address, authorities found, and the suspects were found guilty on February 5.


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