A haulier has been jailed for his role in smuggling migrants between the UK and France.
Romanian national Nicusor Lacatus, 53, recruited other HGV drivers willing to move migrants across the border for a UK-based gang, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
He was given a six-year prison term at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday after admitting facilitating illegal immigration at an earlier hearing.
"This case should serve as a warning," said NCA branch commander Saju Sasikumar, adding: "We know crime groups try to recruit HGV drivers... but the penalties for getting involved can be harsh and life-changing."
The agency said it arrested Lacatus in November at an M20 service station in Folkestone, Kent, as he prepared to leave the UK in his van.
One of the drivers he recruited, 40-year-old Romanian national Sebastian Haprian, had been stopped two months earlier in Dover carrying 22 migrants in the back of his lorry.
Cash totalling £3,600 was also found and phone evidence showed he had been in contact with Lacatus in the build-up to the incident, according to the NCA.
Haprian was handed a three-year prison sentence in December after admitting his role in the scheme.
Sasikumar said smugglers operated in both directions across the Channel and often drivers transported migrants into and out of the UK.
Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.
Related internet links
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Jesse Jackson hospitalized, under observation for a neurodegenerative condition - 2How stripping diversity, equity and inclusion from health care may make Americans sicker
- 3Island Travel Guide: Must-Visit Objections for 2024
- 4Figure out how to Team up with Your Auto Crash Legal advisor for Best Outcomes
- 5Which Switch Game Do You Suggest? Share Your Decision
- China Just Got A Lot Closer To Its First-Ever Manned Moon Landing
- From record warming to rusting rivers, 2025 Arctic Report Card shows a region transforming faster than expected
- Oldest evidence of human fire-making discovered at site in England
- Why won't NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts land on the moon when they get there?
- Artemis 2 moon astronauts will try to recreate Apollo 8's historic 'Earthrise' photo during April 6 flyby
- Mystery foot suggests a second early human relative lived alongside Lucy
- Would you ever turn to AI for companionship? 6% of Americans say they could — or already have.
- In these U.S. groups, deaths now exceed births. What’s happening?
- Russia accidentally destroys its only way of sending astronauts to space
