Two men who conspired to smuggle 10 Vietnamese nationals, including eight children, to the UK by hiding them in a lorry loaded with worn-out tyres have been jailed.
36-year-old Daniel Loughran, of Co Armagh and 53-year-old Eoin Nolan, were convicted of conspiring to facilitate the illegal entry of foreign nationals into the UK after a trial in February this year.
The pair, along with others, planned to pick up 10 Vietnamese nationals from France and smuggle them via Belgium to the UK.
At Maidstone Crown Court, Loughran, wearing a white shirt and blue jumper, and Nolan, wearing a grey fleece, were sentenced for their part in the conspiracy.
Loughran received five-and-a-half years, having played a leading role in the conspiracy, while Nolan received four years but has already served his time in custody and on curfew.
On 4 March 2020, a HGV lorry cab was driven from Northern Ireland to Dover on the instructions of Loughran where it was met by Nolan and his boss Wayne Sherlock in a yard called Shamrock Recovery.
Sherlock, who is listed as a director of Shamrock Recovery and played a leading role in the conspiracy, pleaded guilty in June 2020, and was sentenced to four years in prison in June 2022.
A driver, Duncan McLaughlin, who was convicted by the Belgian authorities in 2021, took the lorry across the Channel and picked up the Vietnamese nationals, the court heard.
The plan was foiled when McLaughlin was stopped by the Belgian authorities on 5 December, and the migrants were found hidden in the back of a lorry.
"When checking the trailer, which was loaded with worn-out tyres, it appeared that 10 migrants were hiding between the tyres," said Simon Jones, prosecuting.
Judge Robert Lazarus noted that Loughran had planned to commit these offences on a repeat basis, standing to gain "very large sums of money indeed".
According to phone records shown to jurors at trial, Loughran suggested that #25,000 should be the fee offered to the drivers who made the trip.
It was unclear whether Nolan was receiving any special compensation, as he was on the phone to McLaughlin at points on the night of 4 December, providing aid which he also would provide for their legitimate clients.
However, he was aware of the fact that he was aiding in people trafficking, the court heard.
Immigration in UK a 'divisive issue'
Judge Lazarus also noted that immigration in the UK is a "divisive issue" which is fuelling "racism and hate" in the country.
He said: "Immigration is a divisive issue. We all will have seen the really quite alarming protests going on outside certain hotels up and down the county.
"Immigration and in particular illegal immigration is the fuel behind so much racism and hate in the country."
He added: "It is made all the more difficult when individuals are brought into this country unlawfully in the type of offences on which I am passing sentence today."
The judge commended the "detective work" of the National Crime Agency (NCA) in bringing this case.
NCA Branch Commander David Cunningham said: "Nolan and Loughran's organised crime group continued to relentlessly pursue making this crossing a success, despite it being just months after the tragic deaths of 39 migrants who had tried to make a similar journey.
"We saw in their communications that they faced issues finding a driver to smuggle the migrants but persisted anyway, despite the danger involved. They operated as a well-oiled machine and took £150,000 from these vulnerable migrants, most of whom were children, for their own pure greed.
"The group loaded old tyres to the trailer for the sole purpose of appearing to be a legitimate delivery and the migrants were told to hide within them, despite them being unstable and the potential for serious injury or worse if the journey had continued.
"The NCA will continue to tackle organised immigration crime and in our work with partners to bring criminal gangs like those Nolan and Loughran were involved in to justice."
Maurice Henderson, who is alleged to have also been part of the organised crime, is yet to stand trial and is listed for a mention hearing at Maidstone Crown Court on 7 October.
