Two men who piloted small boats have become the first offenders to be sentenced for a new offence of endangering others during a Channel crossing.
Afghan national Mohammad Tajik, 32, and Sudanese national Alnour Ali, 26, were at Canterbury Crown Court for two years and 27 months respectively on Wednesday.
Sentencing them, Judge Simon James said: “The inherent dangers of seeking to navigate one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world in a vessel which was never designed to undertake such a journey are obvious.
“However the risk of death and serious injury are significantly increased when boats have no navigational aides, are overcrowded and those on board are not adequately equipped with safety equipment.”
Endangering others during a journey by sea to the UK is a new offence that came into force in January as part of new border security legislation.
More follows…
