People smuggler who hid migrants in campervan is jailed

A man who smuggled four migrants into the UK using his campervan has been jailed for 15 months.

Border Force said it found the Albanian men hidden in the shower and bunks of Oozy Hughes's van when he was stopped at Harwich Port in Essex.

He claimed he had been in Spain but officers found a receipt from a casino in Belgium.

The 44-year-old of Catlyn Close, East Malling, Kent, pleaded guilty to facilitating illegal entry into the UK.

Judge Timothy Godfrey, sentencing him at Chelmsford Crown Court in Essex, said illegal immigration continued to be a "serious" problem.

The campervan was stopped by Border Force at Harwich in March 2018 and when interviewed by police, he claimed he hired the van to drive to Spain and had returned by ferry from Santander, the Home Office said.

But officers said they found a parking ticket from the Netherlands and GPS data revealed his actual route.

Officers said the casino receipt showed he had participated in a so-called "fantastic Fridays" competition to win a 100g (0.2lb) gold bar earlier that day.

Hughes - who was also known as Mark Newton - had driven through Belgium in order to pick up the migrants from the Netherlands.

The judge was told Hughes was in debt to several people, including to his wife, and that he had a "crippling" addiction to Class A drugs, especially crack cocaine which he started taking at the age of 19.

Emma Akuwudike, mitigating, said Hughes was "purely driven by money" and added: "He received absolutely nothing and paid a very high price."

Hughes showed no emotion when he was sentenced.

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830