Small boat pilot who made English Channel crossing jailed for three years

The pilot of a small boat crossing the English Channel with 37 people on board has been jailed for three years.

Ashari Mohamed, 28, drove the vessel, which hosted Sudanese, Iraqi, Syrian and Albanian nationals and eight children and was intercepted by the Border Force on July 10 2022.

The Sudanese national allegedly told a contractor he was paid 600 euros (£517.89) to pilot the boat due to having previous experience.

After his arrest, Mohamed denied being paid and instead claimed he told smugglers he had no money to cross but agreed to drive the boat for free due to his experience.

Mohamed previously pleaded guilty to facilitating and arriving in the UK without valid entry and got an eight-month prison sentence for entering the country illegally.

This will be served concurrently to the three-year sentence handed down at Canterbury Crown Court on Wednesday.

The conviction follows a Home Office investigation.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said: “We are working night and day to stop the boats and dismantle the people-smuggling networks behind them.

“This sentence, reinforced by the tougher measures in the Nationality and Borders Act, shows we are taking action against the pilots who put lives at risk by making these dangerous and illegal crossings possible.”