Van driver starved migrants of oxygen as he smuggled them into UK in hidden compartment

A van driver has been jailed for 10 years for smuggling migrants in a hidden compartment who were discovered screaming for help as they were starved of oxygen.

Anas Al Mustafa, 43, was convicted of assisting unlawful migration by trafficking the seven people in a specially-adapted van via a ferry between Dieppe, in France, and Newhaven, East Sussex , on February 16.

The six men and one woman were found by emergency services in a concealed space “the width of a human chest” and were being starved of oxygen and suffering from dehydration.

Sentencing, Judge Christine Laing KC said the offence “compromises the economic and physical safety of the nation and all of its citizens”.

She added: “The safety of this country and every other is dependent on knowing who is living in it.

“Desperate people are prepared to risk their lives to come into the UK, often with tragic consequences. They are exploited by those who profit from this trade and pay little attention to their safety.”

As well as the prison sentence, the judge also ordered the forfeiture of the van and Al Mustafa’s telephone and sim card.

Prosecutor Nick Corsellis KC told the court that while the younger migrants recovered from the dehydration and heat, one man had a possible heart attack, one woman had acute kidney injury and another man went to hospital in a comatose state and suffered a stroke.

The trial heard how crew members on the Seven Sisters ship heard pleas from inside a van on deck during the journey and used an axe to break down the fake partition that was hiding the people inside to free them.

Mr Corsellis had said the hidden compartment was two metres wide, 194cm tall and 37cm in narrow width, which forced the migrants to stand, and they could not move to any meaningful degree.

They were not provided with water, the prosecutor added.

Two of the migrants had lost consciousness by the time they were rescued at around 9.20am, and all of the group were taken to hospital and treated, jurors were told.

An Australian nurse and passenger on the ferry, Sari Gehle, responded to a call to assist the crew during the incident and described the female casualty as “terrified”, gripping her arm tightly repeatedly and saying “Vietnam, Vietnam”, so she understood the group were from there.

Other male casualties she recalled being on the floor, with one vomiting and another with a cut across his left shoulder. All of them were given oxygen masks.

During the trial, Al Mustafa, of Swansea, denied knowing they were in the vehicle and told jurors he was “shocked” and “completely numb” at the discovery. The father-of-two added it was the “most difficult day of his life”.

The court previously heard how Al Mustafa, who is originally from Syria but moved to the UK in 2010-2011, was introduced to a man called Badr last time he was in Syria who said he needed him to do a job for him driving a van.

The prosecution had said in a police interview with no interpreter Al Mustafa said he was paid £500 on a previous occasion to drive the van to get an MoT in Liverpool, but for the February job he was being paid £5,000 to drive the van to the UK.

Jurors heard that Al Mustafa told police he did not know there were people in the van but because he was being paid £5,000 he thought “maybe this time there is people inside”.

Mr Corsellis asked the jury to consider whether this is a confession, adding: “We suggest that the defendant was not telling the full truth as to his involvement in the trafficking.”

When asked about the interview, Al Mustafa told jurors via an interpreter that the £5,000 sum was incorrect and he meant £500.

He also said he did not remember telling police he thought maybe people were in the van and did not know why he said that.

Instead, Al Mustafa told the court he flew to Amsterdam for a holiday and met Badr at the airport who suggested he drive the same van he previously drove for the MoT to take it back to the garage as there was a fault with the gearbox.

During sentencing, Judge Laing said she rejected these claims and said she was “satisfied you were not a mere driver” in the operation.

Additional reporting by PA