31 stowaways found in four lorries en route to Dover
More
than 30 would-be illegal immigrants have been found hiding in four
lorries in Calais, waiting to cross to Dover.
The discoveries were made by
Border Force officers within 24 hours of each other and involved
Albanians, Afghans, Iranians, Pakistanis and a Syrian.
It happened on Wednesday
and started when, in the early hours, a sniffer dog indicated that
there were people inside Turkish-registered lorry being driven by a
Turkish driver. The vehicle, which was heading to Peterborough, was
searched by officers who found 12 Albanians concealed in the load
of mixed goods.
Officers using heartbeat
monitors also discovered six Afghans hidden in a Polish-registered
vehicle, driven by a Polish national, laden with sofas en-route for
Accrington.
Later the same morning a
second indication by a detector dog, this time on a
Czech-registered vehicle, led officers to find six Albanians hidden
in a load of nappies bound for Barton-upon-Humber,
Lincolnshire.
The fourth discovery was in
an Irish-registered lorry heading to the Republic of Ireland laden
with mixed goods.
Following a positive
indication by a dog the vehicle was searched and seven people -
three from Iran, two from Pakistan, one from Afghanistan and a
Syrian - were found in the load.
All the stowaways were handed
over to the French border police and the vehicles allowed to
continue their journeys.
Paul Morgan, Border Force
director for the south east and Europe, said: "This incident shows
why we base Border Force staff in France - to stop would-be illegal
immigrants before they reach our shores.
"Our strong presence in
French ports like Calais and close collaboration with the French
authorities helps protect the whole of the UK from people
attempting to enter the country illegally.
"As well as using sniffer
dogs, officers also use heartbeat detectors, carbon dioxide probes
and physical searches to find people hiding in
vehicles".
14/12/12
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