Four men have been jailed for smuggling nearly 30 Vietnamese people ‘like freight’ into the UK through a harbour in an historic fishing village.
The group of human traffickers were locked up for a total of 16 years between them after a judge said they were motivated by greed.
They were arrested in April last year after bemused residents watched as several foreign nationals piled out of a yacht at the harbour in Newlyn, in Cornwall.
Four men have been jailed for smuggling nearly 30 Vietnamese people ‘like freight’ into the UK through a harbour in an historic fishing village. Pictured: The group were found crammed into a van
They were then marched down a pontoon towards a car park before being piled into a windowless van and driven away from the harbour.
The yacht had sailed from Newlyn to Roscoff, France, and was in a very run-down condition following its return crossing of Channel with its illegal cargo.
Several shocked local fishermen called police who tracked the van as it travelled up the M5 motorway before stopping it near the services by Cullompton, Devon.
Inside police found a total of 29 immigrants, all of whom were believed to be Vietnamese.
The men were arrested in April last year after bemused residents watched as several foreign nationals piled out of a yacht at Newlyn Harbour, in Cornwall
The yacht at Newlyn was simultaneously raided and police arrested four men under the Modern Slavery Act.
Glen Bennett, 55, of Burnley, Frank Walling, 73, of Colne, Lancashire, and Keith Plummer, 63, of Sheerness, Kent, all admitted assisting unlawful immigration into the UK in relation to the incident in April last year.
Jon Ransom, 63, also of Sheerness, denied the charge but was found guilty after a trial.
Glen Bennett (left), 55, of Burnley, Frank Walling, 73, of Colne, Lancashire, were jailed for four-and-a-half years after they admitted assisting unlawful immigration into the UK
The gang all appeared in the dock at Truro Crown Court on Monday and they all remained emotionless as they were locked up.
Walling, Bennett and Ransom all got four and a half years each and Plummer was given 40 months.
Sentencing, judge Robert Lindford told them: ‘In the van, being carted around like freight, were 29 living, breathing and I have no doubt desperate human beings for whose plight you cared not one jot.
Jon Ransom (left), 63, of Sheerness Kent, denied the charge but was found guilty after a trial. He also received a four-and-a-half-year sentence. Keith Plummer, 63, also of Sheerness, admitted the same charge and was given 40 months in prison
‘This was no humanitarian enterprise but one for gain, benefiting from human misery.
‘The people trafficked by you all were taken from the van and spoken to by police and representatives of the home office.
‘They were housed and in the case of the children cared for. Most of them now have effectively disappeared.
‘You four are all responsible for the fact that these people are now unlawfully in this country, but more than that you were in a trade that exploited these poor, hapless people.
Several shocked local fishermen called police who tracked the van as it travelled up the M5 motorway before stopping it near the services by Cullompton, Devon
Inside police found a total of 29 immigrants, all of whom were believed to be Vietnamese
‘There is no evidence that any of you recruited others or forced anyone to do anything they didn’t want to do.
‘It has been said that this wasn’t a sophisticated operation. This didn’t just happen, the boat didn’t just happen to be over in Roscoff when you were asked to provide a lift for 29 strangers. You each had a part to play in this and you played it.
‘This offending is far far too serious for anything other than immediate imprisonment.’
Don Tait, for the Crown Prosecution Service, earlier told the court how the immigrants were smuggled on board the yacht, called the Johan Sebastian.
The prosecutor said: ‘The yacht had sailed to the UK from France. It had set off from Newlyn on April 8 with Walling and Bennett on board.
‘It arrived back in Newlyn at 7.07am on April 12.
‘A certain number of obviously foreign nationals were seen leaving the boat and going up a footbridge.
‘Waiting in the car park was a rental van with the rear shutter open. The people then climbed into the vehicle before the door was closed and it drove out the car park.’
The court heard how the van was driven by Ransom and followed by Plummer, who was driving an Audi TT.
Walling and Bennett stayed behind in a nearby café where they were later arrested.
Mr Tait added: ‘The two vehicles were followed onto the M5 before being pulled over.
The court heard how the van was driven by Ransom and followed by Plummer, who was driving an Audi TT. Pictured: The moment police open the rear door of the van
’29 men, women, and children of Vietnamese origin were found on board.
‘This was a well planned attempt to breach the UK’s immigration legislation.
‘Common sense dictates it would have been preferable for the smugglers to arrive under the cover of darkness.’.
Mr Tait added that of the 29 Vietnamese immigrants, most had disappeared.
Don Tait, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said that of the 29 immigrants, most had since disappeared
He added: ’17 of them were deemed to be under the age of 18 and were placed with various local authorities, they were spread far and wide.
‘Of those 17, three disappeared almost immediately and have not been traced.
‘There were 12 adults and one of those 12 was deported, the remaining we have no idea where they are.’
Piers Northworthy, for Walling, said: ‘This was an amateur operation at best. Bringing them in in daylight to be seen by members of the public then going for breakfast.
‘He is a 73-year-old man, he has a significant record but he has nothing on his record of this type.
Dieter Kehler, for Bennett, said: ‘Was it well planned and well researched? It doesn’t seem to be.
‘Mr Bennett was on the yacht, he was seen on CCTV leading the group off towards a car park then he leaves the scene.’
Robin Smith, for Plummer, said: ‘At worst it could be seen that his involvement stretched over two days.
The men, women and children were crammed into the van after arriving in the UK by boat
‘It is right to say that his financial reward was to be modest, it is some where in between £400 and £800.’
Jason Beal, for Ransom, said: ‘He tried to deny his involvement.
‘There must have been some commercial benefit for those involved. These things don’t just happen, they didn’t just wake up and commit this offence.
‘There had to be some planning involved.’
Speaking after the case Ann Hampshire, senior prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘We’re dealing with organised crime. There is a significant amount of planning involved with a crime like this.
The yacht, the Johan Sebastian, arrived in the picturesque village of Newlyn, in Cornwall, and police were alerted after locals saw the immigrants emerge from the boat before walking down the pontoon (left)
‘The conditions on the boat were dreadful – it was a night time crossing, it was rough, there was nothing for them to eat, and toilet facilities on board the boat were particularly dreadful.
‘They were then ushered from the yacht straight into a waiting vehicle where they would have been trapped for six or seven hours.
‘The early call to the police meant they could allocate the resources and stop the vehicle.’
Detective Inspector Glenn Willcott said: ‘The motive can only have been financial, they thought nothing of the welfare or suffering of those involved.
‘They loaded them onto the van like cattle before setting off onto the M5.’
The Cornwall village of Newlyn, the unlikely scene of human trafficking
The village of Newlyn, located near the south-western tip of the UK in Cornwall, has a population of around 4,500.
It’s history is dominated by fishing and it is still home to one of the largest fishing fleets in the UK, with more than 40 acres of harbour.
The harbour is home to all kinds of boats, including trawlers and crabbers.
The village of Newlyn, located near the south-western tip of the UK in the sunny county of Cornwall, has a population of around 4,500
The picturesque nature of the village, with its rows of seafront cottages and restaurants, is a world away from the kind of place in which serious crime might normally take place.
And so the sight of 29 illegal immigrants emerging from a yacht before being marched down the pontoon at the harbour prompted locals to immediately raise the alarm.
However, the village has previously played host to scores of police.
In 2018, two boats carrying cocaine were intercepted in the sea off the coast of Cornwall before being taken to Newlyn to be raided.
The first case saw a gang of European nationals convicted for trying to bring £112m worth of the drug into the UK in August 2018.
That same summer, another boat carrying cocaine with a street value of £133million was brought into Newlyn after being intercepted off the Cornish coast.
Police found 2.1 tonnes of high purity cocaine which had an estimated wholesale value of £50m.
If cut and sold on the street, the haul had an estimated value of £133m.
The village is ordinarily one of the quieter spots on the Cornish coastline, which is hugely popular with tourists.
Newlyn has several galleries and the bustling fish market and is home to the Newlyn Fish Festival which is held in August every year.