Five defendants convicted of conspiring to smuggle 35 people into the UK – Nina Ellin and Craig Evans prosecuting
May 12, 2022
Nina Ellin, leading Craig Evans successfully prosecuted a large people smuggling gang who attempted to smuggle 35 people of all ages into the UK in purpose built “coffin-like” hides in the back of vans. The men pleaded guilty at the start of their trial at Reading Crown Court and were sentenced to over 24 years in total. The case involved a detailed analysis of the group’s travel, vehicle movements, purchases and phone communications over a period of months.
Links to media coverage of the case are below:-
- https://www.gov.uk/government/news/smuggling-gang-sentenced-after-locking-migrants-into-wardrobe-hides
- https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/gang-jailed-people-smuggling-toddlers-b2075557.html
- https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/05/10/toddlers-nailed-coffin-like-wardrobes-people-smugglers/
- https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/smuggling-gang-shut-victims-inside-coffin-like-wardrobes-266940/
- https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/crime/group-of-men-who-smuggled-35-afghan-people-into-the-uk-through-ports-including-portsmouth-using-horrific-methods-jailed-for-a-total-of-24-years-3687689
