Two Jailed After Channel Migrant Smuggling Sea Rescue

Two jailed after Channel migrant smuggling sea rescue

LONDON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th july, 2016) - Britain jailed two men on Friday for trying to smuggle 18 Albanians to the United Kingdon by boat in one of a growing number of similar attempts intercepted by British authorities.

Robert Stilwell and Mark Stribling were sentenced to four years and four months and four years and eight months in prison respectively for their part in the failed smuggling operation on May 29. They had been the only people on board the boat wearing life jackets and charged each passenger 6,000 Euros (#5,600, $6,660) to be smuggled to Britain, prosecutors said.

Stilwell is a former European and Commonwealth judo champion. The two men were rescued along with the 18 migrants, including two children, after the inflatable boat ran into difficulty between France and Britain. A woman on board needed medical treatment after showing signs of hypothermia. The rescue operation came days after a boat carrying 17 other Albanians arrived on the British coast, having been smuggled ashore illegally by a British sailor who was also jailed on Friday.