Eddie MitchellA van driver has been found guilty of smuggling seven migrants into the UK in the hidden compartment of a vehicle on a cross-Channel ferry.
The migrants were heard banging and screaming for help as they struggled to breathe in Anas Al Mustafa’s van on a Dieppe-Newhaven ferry in February.
They were eventually freed when a crew member used an axe to break down a fake partition to get them out.
Al Mustafa, 43, of Heather Crescent, Swansea, was convicted of assisting unlawful entry to the UK at Lewes Crown Court.
Jurors unanimously found the father-of-two guilty of trafficking people in the specially-adapted van.
The discovery at the East Sussex port sparked a major emergency services response, with ambulances, police and Border Force in attendance.
Jurors at Lewes Crown Court heard how the six men and one woman were being starved of oxygen and were suffering from dehydration in the concealed space which was 2m (6.56ft) wide, 194cm (76.38in) tall and 37cm (14.57in) narrow width.
Crew on the Seven Sisters ship heard pleas from inside the van on deck during the journey, the court heard.
Eddie MitchellThey were not provided with water, prosecutor Nick Corsellis KC said.
He told the court: “The heat created by seven people in such a small space and the lack of sufficient air/oxygen had created a highly dangerous situation.
“It was no doubt this mortal emergency that forced the migrants to call for help in desperation.”
Two of the migrants had lost consciousness by the time they were rescued at around 09:20 GMT, and all of the group were taken to hospital, jurors were told.
‘Completely numb’
An Australian nurse and passenger on the ferry, Sari Gehle, responded to a call to assist the crew and described the female casualty as “terrified”, gripping her arm tightly and repeatedly saying: “Vietnam, Vietnam”, so she understood the group were from there.
She recalled male casualties being on the floor, with one vomiting, and another with a cut across his left shoulder. All of them were given oxygen masks.
During the trial, Al Mustafa denied knowing they were in the vehicle and told jurors he was “shocked” and “completely numb” at the discovery.
The father-of-two added it was the “most difficult day of his life”.
