People smugglers try to dupe sniffer dogs with paprika

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-45592223

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Three men who tried to distract sniffer dogs by scattering paprika in vans have been jailed for unlawful immigration.

They tried smuggling 20 people into the UK in three attempts, which were all detected at Dover's Eastern Docks.

When questioned, the van drivers all said they had been collecting goods from house clearances in Germany.

Horace Wallace and Peter Langston, both of Nottinghamshire, and Michael Gillett, of Derbyshire, were jailed for 11 and a half years in total.

The Home Office said it was not the first time paprika had been used to try and distract sniffer dogs. The force said some people think the smell would be stronger than the smell of the people, which is not the case.

The first smuggling attempt the trio made was intercepted on 19 February 2017.

Gillett, 29, of Newton Drive, Heanor, was driving, and one man, four women, and a nine-year-old child were found in the back.

The illegal passengers of a second van, which was intercepted on 22 May 2017, were a man, five women, a six-year-old child and an eight-month-old baby. Langston, 31, of Arthur Street, Netherfield, was driving.

The final attempt was on 30 May 2017 by Horace Wallace, 43, of Selwyn Close, Nottingham, when six women were hidden.

All the migrants said they were from Iraq.

The Home Office said the men's mobile phones showed none of them had been in Germany over the period they claimed.

David Fairclough, from the Immigration Enforcement team, said there was "significant circumstantial evidence" to suggest it was a co-ordinated operation.

He added: "This was a pitiless attempt to profit from the vile trade of people smuggling."

All three men were jailed at Canterbury Crown Court for assisting unlawful immigration into the UK.

Wallace was found guilty at trial and sentenced to five years. Langston, who pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial, was jailed for four years and six months.

Gillett, who pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, was jailed for two years.

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