HGV driver jailed for attempting to smuggle 10 people out of UK

A Romanian lorry driver has been sentenced to prison after trying to smuggle 10 people out of the UK in the back of his truck.

Dragos-Gabriel Geangalau, 55, was stopped by immigration officers at the Port of Dover on November 21, as he attempted to board a ferry to France. A search of his heavy goods vehicle revealed 10 people hidden inside the trailer.

The group included nationals from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. During questioning, the individuals told authorities they had each paid between £1,000 and £1,500 to be smuggled across the Channel.

Geangalau initially denied any knowledge of the people in his truck, claiming in a prepared statement after his arrest that he was not involved in trafficking and was unaware anyone was hiding inside the vehicle.

However, on January 5, he pleaded guilty to one count of assisting unlawful immigration. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison at Canterbury Crown Court on January 16 and ordered to pay a £228 victims’ surcharge.

The Crown Prosecution Service said the case highlights the role drivers play in organised people-smuggling networks. James Fisher of the CPS praised immigration officers for intercepting the vehicle before it left the UK.

“As the driver, he was the final link in a criminal chain that profits from organised people smuggling,” Fisher said, adding that close cooperation between border officials, police and prosecutors is helping to disrupt international trafficking gangs.

All 10 individuals were removed from the vehicle and dealt with by immigration authorities.

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