A people smuggler caught shipping people across the English Channel on an inflatable boat by Border Force officials in Kent has been jailed for 3 years and 4 months. Rebecca Upton defended the case, instructed by Old Bailey Solicitors.

Sarbast Mohamad Hama pleaded guilty to assisting unlawful immigration at Lewes Crown Court. He had previously entered the UK in December 2018 and applied for permission to stay, a process which was ongoing at the time of his arrest. Further inquiries by Immigration Enforcement’s Criminal and Financial Investigations (CFI) revealed that the boat was purchased in the Netherlands and he had bought lifejackets, boat motors, a pump and battery. Mr Hama had fled his home country of Iraq due to the ongoing conflict.

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