People smuggling gang members jailed

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-41309908

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Six members of a "professionally organised criminal organisation" who profited from human trafficking have been jailed.

They were sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court after UK Border Force officials in France came across two separate instances of Albanian people, one a child, being found in car boots.

The car drivers, passengers and organisers were from Birmingham.

The Albanians found in the cars were handed to the French authorities.

The first car was stopped at the UK Control Zone in Coquelles, France, on 12 March 2015. A man, woman and a child were in the boot.

The driver was Lee Anderson, 46, and passenger was Jason Cowley, 44. They were both arrested at the scene.

On 2 August, 2015, a car driven by Gillian Barker, 47, was stopped at the same controls. Two men were found in the boot and Barker was arrested.

Investigations linked both smuggling attempts to Ilir Hani, 44, Eduart Karaj, 40 and Vullnet Karaj, 41.

The woman and child who were in the boot were said to be the cousin and second cousin of Eduart Karaj.

Sentencing the gang, Judge Simon James said it was clear the operation would have continued if it had not been detected.

"This was not an operation motivated by altruism or compassion," he said.