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| Dymchurch pair admit smuggling Albanian migrants | Dymchurch pair admit smuggling Albanian migrants |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Two men have pleaded guilty to immigration offences after a boat carrying 20 people had to be rescued off the Kent coast. | Two men have pleaded guilty to immigration offences after a boat carrying 20 people had to be rescued off the Kent coast. |
| Robert Stilwell, 33, from Dartford, and Mark Stribling, 35, from Farningham, admitted conspiring to facilitate the entry of non-EU nationals. | Robert Stilwell, 33, from Dartford, and Mark Stribling, 35, from Farningham, admitted conspiring to facilitate the entry of non-EU nationals. |
| They were rescued off Dymchurch with 18 Albanian migrants. Five claimed asylum, while 13 are being removed from the UK. | They were rescued off Dymchurch with 18 Albanian migrants. Five claimed asylum, while 13 are being removed from the UK. |
| Stilwell and Stribling will be sentenced on 29 July. | Stilwell and Stribling will be sentenced on 29 July. |
| They appeared at Maidstone Crown Court via video-link from prison, where they were on remand. | |
| The UK coastguard was called to Dymchurch just before midnight on 28 May. | |
| A helicopter from Lydd and two lifeboats with coastguard rescue teams from Dungeness and Folkestone searched for the rigid-hulled inflatable boat, which was located about two hours later. | |
| Border Force staff later removed another boat from the beach at Dymchurch as part of its investigation. | |
| Officials believe it may have been part of a wider people-smuggling operation. |