Two men who attempted to smuggle ten illegal migrants – including eight children – in the back of a lorry and charged £15,000 per head have been convicted.

Eoin Nolan, 53, and Daniel Loughran, 36, worked together from England and Northern Ireland to organise the trafficking of the Vietnamese nationals from Belgium in March 2020.

Eight of the migrants were children who were hidden in used tyres ahead of being driven from their pre-arranged meeting point in the Rue de Forts area, France, to Zeebrugge in Belgium and loaded onto a ferry to Purfleet, Essex.

It’s believed the smugglers could have made approximately £150,000 – charging £15,000 per person.

National Crime Agency (NCA) officials worked with Belgian authorities to track the lorry and stopped it in its tracks in a parklng area before it was able to board the boat.

The ring-leader, Nolan, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, arranged for Duncan McLaughlin, 64, to travel from Glasgow to Kent to pick up the lorry and take a ferry to France to smuggle the migrants.

The Scottish driver was arrested close to Bruges and all ten migrants were rescued. 

Messages between the crooks showed detailed planning including routes, logistics and how the migrants should enter and hide in the vehicle. 

Eion Nolan, 53, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, (above) has been convicted of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration after organising the trafficking of ten Vietnamese nationals – including eight children- from Belgium into the UK in March 2020

Wayne Sherlock, 44, from Dover, Kent, was convicted for his role and received a four-year prison sentence for conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration

Wayne Sherlock, 44, from Dover, Kent, was convicted for his role and received a four-year prison sentence for conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration

They said: ‘might want to load them [the migrants] in the dark boss’ and ‘yes with the wheels inside they can get in and sleep’. 

In another chain, they said: ‘They need to stay still and wait till doors open and we shout out to f***’. 

It comes just five months after a smuggling gang saw 39 Vietnamese nationals dead in a lorry trailer in Essex in October 2019.

The victims, the youngest of whom was just 15, died in sweltering conditions as they were transported in an airtight container from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet – what they had hoped would be new lives in Britain. 

Eleven men were jailed for their part in the tragic operation. The ringleader, Ronan Hughes, 44, of Armagh, from Northern Ireland received £3,000 per migrant and is now behind bars for the next 20 years.

While his partner in crime, Romanian mechanic Gheorghe Nica, 46, of Basildon, Essex, supplied the drivers and was jailed for 27 years.

Wayne Sherlock, 44, from Dover, Kent, was a gang member who was convicted for his role in smuggling the ten illegal migrants and received a four-year prison sentence for conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.

While Loughran worked with Sherlock to arrange for the lorry to be moved from Ireland to Kent.

But the criminal was bailed and fled the country, being convicted in his absence in October 2021 and sentenced to 37 months jail and an 88,000 euro fine. 

Nolan and Loughran were arrested by NCA officers and convicted of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration following a five-week trial at Maidstone Crown Court.

They will be sentenced on 16 April.

David Cunningham, NCA Branch Commander, said: ‘Despite the tragedy that led to the deaths of 39 migrants in Purfleet in 2019, this gang sought to take advantage of this group of Vietnamese nationals, most of whom were children, putting them at risk by smuggling them across the English Channel. Each of the migrants were charged thousands of pounds and hidden in inhumane conditions.

‘These smuggling gangs show complete disregard for the safety and wellbeing of those who decide to use these dangerous methods to try to enter the UK. Once payment is made by the migrant they simply become a commodity for transportation.

‘Tackling organised immigration crime and bringing all of those involved to justice is a priority for the NCA and we will continue to work with all of our international partners to stop this inhumane, illegal and dangerous criminality.’

Tarika Jayaratne, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘The defendants in this case made significant efforts to avoid and undermine the checks and controls we have on immigration at our borders. They also put the safety and wellbeing of the vulnerable children they were smuggling at risk for profit.

‘The CPS is continuing to work with law enforcement partners to discourage, disrupt and dismantle this exploitative trade through prosecutions and cross-border collaboration.’

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