A people smuggler who boasted about ferrying 50 migrants a week into the UK has been sentenced to nearly a decade in prison for his role in a dangerous migrant boat plot.
Arthuras Jusas, 35, from Lambeth, was apprehended as part of a six-man gang attempting to smuggle 69 Albanian migrants into England aboard a rickety fishing vessel built almost 60 years ago.
The decrepit boat, which only carried 21 life jackets, ran aground twice before reaching British waters. The vessel set sail from Ostend, Belgium, but was intercepted near Norfolk by the coastguard and escorted to Harwich port in a major operation involving the National Crime Agency (NCA), Border Force, Immigration Enforcement, and Essex Police.
The NCA was alerted by the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre in Lisbon after receiving reports of suspicious activity from Swedish authorities. The vessel had been stranded and assisted by Swedish coastguards 15 days prior to attempting to gather migrants.
A laptop seized from the boat revealed the involvement of the UK gang. Phone records linked Lithuanian Arthuras Jusas, Latvian Sergejs Kuliss, and Israeli Kfir Ivgi as coordinators of the smuggling operation. Jusas even recorded an audio message boasting about plans to “bring every week 50 people,” targeting Great Yarmouth as their landing zone despite the vessel’s lack of adequate safety equipment.
Jusas pleaded guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court and was sentenced to nine years and nine months in prison. His co-conspirators Sergejs Kuliss and Kfir Ivgi received sentences of nine and ten years respectively. Crew members Kosyi and Gulpe were convicted and sentenced to seven and eight years. One crew member, Volodymyr Mykhailov, was acquitted.
NCA Director of Investigations Nikki Holland said: “These men had no qualms about trying to smuggle vulnerable migrants on board an unseaworthy vessel, with ambitions to bring in hundreds more using this deadly method. Their sole motivation was monetary greed, so I’m delighted they are now beginning lengthy jail terms for these despicable crimes. We will relentlessly pursue people smugglers and bring them before the courts.”
The gang’s plans have been thwarted, but the fight against ruthless people traffickers continues.
Originally published by UKNIP.
