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Driver may be fined after 'illegal immigrants' leave lorry
By Hugh FortFebruary 04, 2010
An Estonian lorry driver could be facing a hefty fine if he is convicted of carrying eight illegal immigrants in the back of his vehicle.
The six women and two men, thought to be from Iran and Iraq, were seen climbing out of the back of the lorry at the Twin Bridges Roundabout yesterday morning.
Eight 'illegal immigrants' arrested leaving lorry
They were arrested and remain in immigration detention.
The driver, 52, who has also been arrested, was questioned by officers from the UK Border Agency’s Immigration Crime Team and released on bail.
Under civil penalty law, drivers found to be carrying stowaways can be fined up to £2,000 per person.
Rob Allen, head of UK Border Agency’s Berkshire Local Immigration Team, said: “Our policy is clear – when suspected illegal entrants are found on lorries, immigration officers attend quickly in all cases.
“Where an individual is found to have no legal right to remain in the UK we will seek to remove them.
“The UK Border Agency has introduced many measures to make our borders more secure.
“Our deployment of state-of-the-art detection technology, fines for lorry companies, and closer co-operation with ferry operators, port authorities and other European countries are all helping to clamp down on illegal entry into the UK.
“In 2009 alone we searched over one million freight vehicles, and stopped over 29,000 individual attempts to cross the channel illegally.”
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