A “large and organised” smuggling syndicate treated human beings like “freight” to smuggle 35 Afghan Sikhs into the UK, resulting in the death of one man, a court hears.
Meet Singh Kapoor, 40, was found dead in a shipping container at Tilbury Docks in Essex in August 2014. The jury was told he was one of 35 immigrants, including 15 children, who were smuggled into the country.
Four men, alleged to have been part of a “syndicate”, deny organising the operation in a trial at Basildon crown court. Stephen McLaughlin, 34, of Limavady, Londonderry; Timothy Murphy, 33, of Elmgrove, Londonderry; Martin McGlinchey, 47, of Derryloughan Road, Coalisland, County Tyrone; and Taha Sharif, 38, who is Kurdish, have all pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to facilitate illegal entry into the UK.
The group of immigrants, whose ages ranged from 16 months to 72 years old, are Afghan Sikhs, many of whom had fled persecution in their homeland. They are all claiming asylum in the UK, the court heard.
Prosecutor Michael Goodwin said the smuggling operation was uncovered when dock workers heard noises inside the container after it arrived on a ship from Zeebrugge, Belgium.
He said: “Dock workers heard knocking and shouting coming from inside the container which was still on board the ship having docked at about 6am.
“The police broke the seal and rear doors and the 35 illegal entrants were found on board in a distressed state. They were found to be suffering from breathing difficulties and other difficulties having been locked in a confined space since the previous day.
“There were many barrels stacked on the floor of the container, leaving only about four foot of space above for the people being smuggled. One of the people had died during the crossing over night.”
Mr Goodwin said the defendants had taken huge risks but had a “substantial financial motive”, adding: “A large and well organised operation does not come cheap and some of the clandestines and their families had paid substantial amounts of money.”
Mr Goodwin said the Afghans was made up of several smaller groups and families who were all on the run in various parts of Europe and brought together by the syndicate.
Jurors heard that Mr Sharif made several trips from his home in north London to France throughout June and July on visits allegedly linked to people smuggling.
The trial is expected to last until mid-July,