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| Cross-Channel roof box people smuggler jailed | Cross-Channel roof box people smuggler jailed |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| A man who smuggled three Vietnamese people into the UK in a car roof box has been jailed for three years. | |
| Robert Rooney, 34, was stopped by Border Force after driving his Ford Fiesta into the UK control zone at Croquelle, France, on 5 October. | Robert Rooney, 34, was stopped by Border Force after driving his Ford Fiesta into the UK control zone at Croquelle, France, on 5 October. |
| He told officials the roof box contained camping equipment but two men and a girl, 15, were found inside, Maidstone Crown Court heard. | He told officials the roof box contained camping equipment but two men and a girl, 15, were found inside, Maidstone Crown Court heard. |
| The roof box was locked and had no ventilation, Border Force said. | The roof box was locked and had no ventilation, Border Force said. |
| Judge Catherine Brown said had there been a delay in the crossing, or an accident on the road, it "could very well have had tragic consequences". | Judge Catherine Brown said had there been a delay in the crossing, or an accident on the road, it "could very well have had tragic consequences". |
| Sentencing him, she added: "It was a high-risk venture." | Sentencing him, she added: "It was a high-risk venture." |
| Dave Fairclough, Deputy Director of Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigations, told the BBC: "Robert Rooney went abroad on the pretence of going for a fishing trip and to meet his brother. | Dave Fairclough, Deputy Director of Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigations, told the BBC: "Robert Rooney went abroad on the pretence of going for a fishing trip and to meet his brother. |
| "In fact his motive was much more sinister. This was a determined effort to go and meet with people smugglers based in Calais. He had an arrangement with them to collect the three clandestine migrants." | "In fact his motive was much more sinister. This was a determined effort to go and meet with people smugglers based in Calais. He had an arrangement with them to collect the three clandestine migrants." |
| He said the girl was not related to the two men which would suggest she was a victim of human trafficking. | He said the girl was not related to the two men which would suggest she was a victim of human trafficking. |
| Dan Scully, Border Force Regional Director, said: "Smuggling people into the UK in this way is incredibly dangerous and puts the lives of the individuals at huge risk. | Dan Scully, Border Force Regional Director, said: "Smuggling people into the UK in this way is incredibly dangerous and puts the lives of the individuals at huge risk. |
| "Crammed into a confined space inside the roof box must have been terrifying." | "Crammed into a confined space inside the roof box must have been terrifying." |
| Rooney, of North Mall, in Edmonton, London, had pleaded guilty to a charge of facilitating the commission of a breach of UK immigration law at a hearing on 8 January. | Rooney, of North Mall, in Edmonton, London, had pleaded guilty to a charge of facilitating the commission of a breach of UK immigration law at a hearing on 8 January. |
| Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk. | Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk. |