Illegal migrants smuggled in through our ports a daily problem

The county has seen an influx in people trafficking since the migrant crisis exploded last year with 119 arrested in the last six months by roads police alone.

It comes after the National Crime Agency (NCA) - the UK's equivalent of the FBI - warned last week that criminal gangs are targetting smaller ports such as Newhaven because of perceived lesser security at the likes of Dover and Folkstone.

Phil Nicholas, chief inspector of the Sussex Police Roads Policing Unit, said his team is dealing with a steady number of migrants on an almost daily basis.

He said: "We are usually called once the vehicle they are travelling in stops at a service station or reaches a destination.

"They all come through the ports but it is difficult to say which ones.

"We have seen a large number in recent years. It is difficult to say an exact figure but arrests for us (roads police) in the last few years is certainly in the hundreds.

"That is the reality of the situation."

Over the last few days alone his officers have been called to deal with three incidents of suspected illegal migrants.

On April 8, a Spanish lorry was stopped on the A27 near Tangmere after a hand was spotted waving from the rear of the vehicle.

Seven adults and a child were found inside and the driver, a 47-year-old Spanish man, was arrested on suspicion of facilitating the illegal entry of people to the UK.

On Wednesday, officers discovered a teenage boy in the back of lorry at the Rolls Royce Technology and Logistics Centre in Newlands Road, Bognor.

Just minutes later officers were called to Stockbridge Roundabout in Chichester where men were spotted jumping from the back of a lorry.

A 21-year-old man and a 23-year-old man were arrested. It is not know how many - if any - got away.

Last week the NCA issued a briefing in which officers warned criminal gangs are using smaller ports, such as Newhaven, to smuggle people into the country.

An NCA spokesman told The Argus this was based on intelligence they and their European partners had gathered.

He said they are also "alive to the threat" that terror groups could use ports such as Newhaven to smuggle terrorists into the country.

He said: "There is instability in many of the countries people are coming from and terror groups use that, so we are alive to the threat.

"Our operations are ongoing and any intelligence we get to suggest terror groups are using ports to get people into the country we will pass on to counter terror police."

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PREDICT HOW MANY GET THROUGH

Not long after nightfall, a motorist came across a lorry parked at the side of the A23 near Pyecombe.

There was nothing hugely out the ordinary.

Maybe the driver was just having a break, they thought. Maybe he had broken down.

But as they got closer, the motorist spotted suspicious movements from the back of the lorry and called the police.

Within minutes officers swooped on the vehicle.

A 37-year-old Romanian by the name of Marius Muratore was arrested and officers found 41 people cowering in the back during the incident on January 22.

The lorry had come through Newhaven from Dieppe – a route the National Crime Agency (NCA) said smugglers now see as a weak point into the UK.

Phil Nicholas, Chief Inspector of the Sussex Police roads policing unit, is in charge of officers who are called to intercept vehicles carrying illegal migrants once they reach the county’s roads.

He said: “That was just one day. Obviously that is quite a large number but it is becoming more common.

“We continue to see a number of incidents on an almost daily basis. That is the reality of it.”

Law enforcement agencies across the UK have seen an increase in people smuggling since the migrant crisis hit last year.

The problems at Dover and with the Channel Tunnel have been well documented.

So much so that it is feared criminal gangs are now looking to take advantage of smaller ports, such as Newhaven, to access the country.

Chief Insp Nicholas’s figure of 119 arrests only refers to those picked up on the county’s roads.

Border Force, which is in charge of the comings and goings at our ports and airports, refused to give arrest numbers to The Argus.

But it is safe to say the total figure of those arrested in Sussex over the last six months will be much higher than 119 as that is just the number of migrants who were caught. It is impossible to predict how many have made it into Sussex undetected.

At The Argus we have covered stories of people smuggling right here in Sussex.

Perhaps the most high-profile incident of recent months was the discovery of nine Vietnamese teenagers inside a lorry at Newhaven Port in September last year.

The 25-year-old lorry driver and 50-year-old Vietnamese man were arrested and the teenagers – five girls aged between 14 and 17, and four boys aged 15, 16, 16 and 17 - were placed into foster care in Sussex.

Eight of the youngsters later went missing.

The previous year a six-year-old boy was found in a lorry full of illegal immigrants, also at Newhaven.

He was among 13 people discovered inside a Spanish-registered lorry.

And then last summer a Sudanese man was found under a horsebox at the home of British showjumping at Hickstead.

These incidents are just the tip of the iceberg as, given the nature of the operations, many go unreported.  For example, the discovery of 41 people in the back of the lorry at Pyecombe has never been reported before.

But who are these people, how are they getting here and how can we stop it?

An NCA spokesman said that the majority come from the Middle East and North Africa where the smuggling gangs are based.

They are promised safe passage to Europe with many wanting to come to the UK as a priority.

The agency estimates that in 2015 more than one million migrants crossed the Mediterranean into Europe. And with no end in sight to the crisis, that number is only expected to grow.

Tom Dowdall, deputy director of NCA’s border policing command, said gangs charge as much as £4,000 to reach the UK from the Middle East by boat and land and £13,500 to travel by air.

He said NATO’s increased presence in the Mediterranean had driven prices up but the high demand remains.

The NCA is continuing to work with agencies across Europe to stop these gangs in their tracks.

They have cited major breakthroughs such as arresting a prominent document forger in West Africa and intercepting a smugglers’ freighter near Greece as making inroads.

But their battle continues to catch up with and bring to justice these gangs that treat desperate humans like cargo.

Back at home, the bosses of Sussex’s ports said the public should be reassured by their security.

Dave Collins-Williams, harbour master at Newhaven, said: “We have regular meetings with police and Border Force and are kept up to date with all that is going on.

“Our security is inspected by the Department for Transport regularly. Our security is not an issue.”

Shoreham Harbour recently decided to bolster their security by bringing in specialist firm GXS.

However, harbour master Julian Seaman said there was nothing in particular that prompted the move.

He said: “We brought GXS in because we wanted to take advantage of their expertise. There was no trigger in particular it was just the right time to improve our security.

“People see the ships come and go but there is a lot of work that goes on and a lot of process.

“Each ship will have a ship security officer. They will have supremacy of the vessel. I have supremacy of the quay, the terminal and the areas around. “Everyone knowns who is coming and going and what is being transported.

“Before I allow any vessel into port I’ve already gone through a list of criteria with the crew.  As long as we remain vigilant and the public remains vigilant then the system works.”