Small boat pilots first to be sentenced for endangering others in Channel

Two small boat pilots are the first to be facing sentence under a new offence of endangering others during a Channel crossing.

Afghan national Tajik Mohammad and Sudanese national Alnour Ali will both appear at Canterbury Crown Court on Wednesday over two separate dangerous journeys.

Endangering others during a journey by sea to the UK is a new offence that came into force in January as part of new border security legislation.

Under the offence, those who endanger or risk another life at sea could face up to five years in prison, or up to six years if they are in breach of a deportation order.

Mohammad was the first to be convicted under the new law having pleaded guilty at Canterbury Crown Court on April 21.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the 32-year-old abandoned the dinghy he was driving across the English Channel and its passengers when a rescue ship arrived on January 17.

The boat was overcrowded and some passengers were not wearing life jackets during the attempted crossing in poor weather conditions, the CPS said.

Elsewhere, Ali admitted the charge of endangering others during a sea crossing on April 9 at the same court last month.

That day two men and two women drowned after being swept away by strong currents while trying to climb on to a dinghy at Equihen-Plage, near Boulogne-sur-Mer in France.

Following his conviction, National Crime Agency branch operations manager Emma Brown said: “Working with colleagues at home and abroad, we are determined to do all we can to identify and bring to justice those responsible for small boat crossings.

“The tragic deaths illustrate again how perilous these crossings are and the callous nature of the criminals organising them.”

According to the Home Office, the offence is designed to stop more people being crammed into unsafe boats and would apply to those involved in physical aggression and intimidation, as well as anyone who resists rescue.

The new charge includes physical or psychological injury and covers journeys by water to the UK from France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The sentencing hearings for Mohammad and Ali will begin at 10am on Wednesday.

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