PEOPLE smuggler Sarbast Mohamad Hama, a 31-year-old captured shipping migrants across the English Channel in an inflatable boat, has been jailed for three years and four months, after pleading guilty to assisting unlawful immigration at Lewes Crown Court, south of London.

Hama, an Iraqi national, was discovered on the boat with 13 migrants, including two young children, on March 27 when it was intercepted by Border Force officials near Folkestone, Kent, reported the BBC.



An investigation uncovered that Hama had also been encountered during a similar smuggling attempt off the coast of Deal on Christmas Day in 2018 with 10 other Iraqi nationals.



On this occasion he presented himself as an Iranian national and submitted an immigration application which was ongoing.



Immigration Enforcement's Criminal and Financial Investigations (CFI) inquiries discovered that the boat used was bought from a water sports shop in the Netherlands and paid for in cash.



Hama was also spotted on CCTV purchasing boat motors and lifejackets, and was seen changing the number plates on his car outside the shop.


WORLD SHIPPING