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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Councillor smuggled 16 immigrants | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A French councillor has admitted being part of an operation to smuggle 16 Vietnamese immigrants into the UK. | A French councillor has admitted being part of an operation to smuggle 16 Vietnamese immigrants into the UK. |
| Christiane Chocat, 51, of Lumigny-Nesles-Ormeaux, France, pleaded guilty to concealing the group inside a van, which arrived on board a ferry. | Christiane Chocat, 51, of Lumigny-Nesles-Ormeaux, France, pleaded guilty to concealing the group inside a van, which arrived on board a ferry. |
| Immigration officers made the discovery at Portsmouth port in October. | Immigration officers made the discovery at Portsmouth port in October. |
| She and her son Benjamin Chocat, who pleaded guilty to the charge at an earlier hearing, will be sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on 5 February. | She and her son Benjamin Chocat, who pleaded guilty to the charge at an earlier hearing, will be sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on 5 February. |
| 'Horrendous' journey | 'Horrendous' journey |
| A court heard Christiane was a councillor in her home town of Lumigny-Nesles-Ormeaux. | A court heard Christiane was a councillor in her home town of Lumigny-Nesles-Ormeaux. |
| Her 29-year-old son lives Choisy-Le-Roi, France. | Her 29-year-old son lives Choisy-Le-Roi, France. |
| The prosecution claimed the Vietnamese nationals were brought into the UK on a hire transit van on the Normandy Express ferry from Cherbourg. | The prosecution claimed the Vietnamese nationals were brought into the UK on a hire transit van on the Normandy Express ferry from Cherbourg. |
| Police use actors to reconstruct the cramped conditions faced by 16 immigrants inside the Chocat's van | |
| The 13 men and three women were found hidden behind boxes of shrimp noodles. | The 13 men and three women were found hidden behind boxes of shrimp noodles. |
| All were detained by Hampshire Constabulary and the UK Border Agency and returned to France the same evening. | All were detained by Hampshire Constabulary and the UK Border Agency and returned to France the same evening. |
| Andy Cummins, from the UK Border Agency, told BBC News: "The journey would suggest that they came through Europe, into Paris and then somewhere around the Paris area they had been placed into a hire van. | Andy Cummins, from the UK Border Agency, told BBC News: "The journey would suggest that they came through Europe, into Paris and then somewhere around the Paris area they had been placed into a hire van. |
| "You can imagine having been on a ferry for maybe four hours and then the travel time through France to the port. | "You can imagine having been on a ferry for maybe four hours and then the travel time through France to the port. |
| "It would have been pretty horrendous." | "It would have been pretty horrendous." |
| BBC South Today's home affairs correspondent Damon Embling, who was in court, said: "There was barely enough room to move let alone breathe with just a few air holes drilled into the side of the van. | BBC South Today's home affairs correspondent Damon Embling, who was in court, said: "There was barely enough room to move let alone breathe with just a few air holes drilled into the side of the van. |
| "Sugar was left for the group to eat." | "Sugar was left for the group to eat." |
| He said the mother and son could have been paid more than £20,000 by a criminal gang, had they been successful in transporting the group. | He said the mother and son could have been paid more than £20,000 by a criminal gang, had they been successful in transporting the group. |