WIREDGOV

A 55-year-old Romanian truck driver was recently jailed for 27 months after 10 foreign nationals were found in the back of his truck in Dover.

Dragos-Gabriel Geangalau was stopped on 21 November last year while trying to make a ferry crossing to France. The ten people in the back of his HGV included Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Nepali nationals. They were spoken to and said they each paid between £1,000 to £1,500 to make the crossing.

(Images: Custody image of Dragos-Gabriel Geangalau and body worn footage showing migrants in the back of Dragos-Gabriel Geangalau’s truck)

In a prepared statement after his arrest Geangalau claimed he did not know they were in the back of his truck, and he was not involved in trafficking them. 

But on 5 January he admitted to one count of assisting unlawful immigration and was recently sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court.

James Fisher from the Crown Prosecution Service recently said:

“Thanks to the diligent work of Immigration Enforcement officers at Dover, Dragos-Gabriel Geangalau was stopped before he could make the crossing to France.

“As the driver he was the last link in the criminal chain that profits from organised people smuggling across borders.

“This case shows that the close working between UK ports, the police, and prosecutors is frustrating these despicable crime gangs that operate internationally.” 

Notes to editors

• Dragos-Gabriel Geangalau (dob 24/10/1970) pleaded guilty to one count of assisting unlawful immigration to member state, contrary to section 25(1) of the Immigration Act 1971.
• He was jailed for 27 months and ordered to pay £228 victims' surcharge.
• James Fisher is a Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS South East.