A Leicester man has been jailed for 16 months today after he was caught trying to smuggle a passenger into the UK.
Gurpal Bharth, of Western Road, West End, was stopped by Border Force officers at the Channel Tunnel UK control zone in Coquelles on August 14 last year on his return from France.
In his car was a passenger who was carrying a UK passport. Bharth told officers that the man was a friend he had known for several years.
The 24-year-old told the officers that he was giving him a lift to the UK having met up by chance at a festival in Calais.
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However, checks established that the man was an imposter and that the passport he presented had been cancelled by its rightful holder in 2009.
The individual was subsequently identified as an Indian national and he was passed to the French Police Aux Frontieres.
Bharth was arrested and the investigation passed to Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigation officers.
Bharth was subsequently charged with assisting unlawful immigration into the UK.
Today, on the second day of his trial at Canterbury Crown Court, Bharth changed his not guilty plea and admitted the charge. He was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment.
David Fairclough, assistant director at the Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigations team, said Bharth had lied about his passenger.
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He said: "Bharth knew exactly what he was doing. He knew the passenger was an immigration offender and told Border Force officers a pack of lies in an attempt to bring him into the UK illegally.
"He's now paying the price for his criminality.
"This case serves as a warning that abuse of our immigration rules will not be tolerated, especially by those trying to do so in order to make a profit."
Anyone with information about suspected immigration abuse can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously or visit their website.