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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Immigrant smuggling pair jailed | Immigrant smuggling pair jailed |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A French local councillor and her son have been jailed for helping to smuggle 16 Vietnamese immigrants into the UK. | A French local councillor and her son have been jailed for helping to smuggle 16 Vietnamese immigrants into the UK. |
| Christiane Chocat, 51, of Lumigny-Nesles-Ormeaux, France, admitted hiding the group in a vehicle which arrived at Portsmouth on a ferry in October 2009. | Christiane Chocat, 51, of Lumigny-Nesles-Ormeaux, France, admitted hiding the group in a vehicle which arrived at Portsmouth on a ferry in October 2009. |
| Her son Benjamin, 20, of Choisy-Le-Roi, France, pleaded guilty to the same offence last month. | Her son Benjamin, 20, of Choisy-Le-Roi, France, pleaded guilty to the same offence last month. |
| They were sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court to three years and five years respectively. | They were sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court to three years and five years respectively. |
| Shrimp noodles | Shrimp noodles |
| Ms Chocat is a local authority councillor in her home town. | Ms Chocat is a local authority councillor in her home town. |
| The prosecution claimed the Vietnamese immigrants were brought into the UK in a hired van on the Normandy Express ferry from Cherbourg. | The prosecution claimed the Vietnamese immigrants were brought into the UK in a hired van on the Normandy Express ferry from Cherbourg. |
| Three holes were found drilled inside the van to help the group breathe | |
| 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. |
| The conditions inside the van were described as "horrendous" by the UK Border Agency. | The conditions inside the van were described as "horrendous" by the UK Border Agency. |
| They found three holes drilled in the side of the van for the group to breathe while they had only been left sugar for them to eat. | They found three holes drilled in the side of the van for the group to breathe while they had only been left sugar for them to eat. |
| 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. |
| Tony Smith, from the UK Border Agency, welcomed the sentences. | |
| He added: "UK Border Agency officers and police have worked hard to secure convictions against the pair who had no regard for British immigration laws or those they attempted to smuggle". |