Iranian man caught piloting small boat across the English Channel is jailed
An Iranian man who was caught piloting a small boat across the English Channel has been jailed by a Shropshire court.
Mohammed Khani, 33, was sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court, sitting at Telford Justice Centre, today (July 16) after being found guilty of two offences at trial.
Last month a jury convicted Khani of one count of assisting unlawful immigration into the UK and another of attempting to arrive in the UK without valid entry clearance.
The court was told that Khani, who was a carpenter in Iran, had travelled across Turkey, through Europe to France, in lorries and by boat.
Judge Trevor Meegan said Khani and his family had ended up in 'The Jungle' in Calais, a notorious migrant camp, before attempting to cross the English Channel.
Michael Aspinall, prosecuting, was told that Khani had been arrested after UK immigration officers spotted a "heavily overcrowded rigid-hull inflatable boat, often referred to as a small boat" crossing the channel on August 6 last year.
Since the arrest Khani and his family have been living at a Telford hotel which has been used to house migrants.
