Lorry driver charged with attempting to smuggle migrants out of the UK
A Romanian lorry driver has been charged with attempting to smuggle people out of the UK.
The 35-year-old was arrested at the Port of Dover on Thursday afternoon (1 October).
National Crime Agency officers found four men, two Bangladeshis, one Indian and one Egyptian, hidden in the rear of an HGV trailer.
They were all suspected of having been in the UK illegally and have been handed to the immigration authorities to be dealt with. The lorry was booked to sail on a ferry to Calais later that day.
Marius Halmaghe from Romania has been charged with facilitating the commission of a breach or an attempted breach of immigration law by persons who were not citizens of the European Union.
He appeared at Medway Magistrates Court on 2 October 2020, where he was remanded in custody. His case has been adjourned to Folkestone Magistrates Court on 3 October 2020.
NCA branch commander Andy Noyes said: “Criminal groups involved in people smuggling do not care about the safety or wellbeing of those they transport. They just see them as a commodity to be profited from." Officers say they are determined to do what they can to 'disrupt their activities'.