Father-of-two found guilty of smuggling migrants in tiny van compartment
A Swansea man has been found guilty of smuggling seven migrants in a tiny hidden compartment of a van – which left one man suffering a “life-limiting” stroke.
Jurors unanimously found that Anas al Mustafa, 43, smuggled the six men and one woman in a specially adapted van with a hidden compartment that travelled on board a ferry between Dieppe, in France, and Newhaven, East Sussex, on 16 February.
Anas Al Mustafa at a previous apperace at court
The court heard how the crew on the Seven Sisters ship heard screaming from inside a van on deck. The crew used an axe to break down the fake partition inside hiding the people who were being starved of oxygen.
The specially constructed hiding area in the van
Prosecutor Nick Corsellis KC said the hidden compartment measured two metres across and 194cm tall but just 37cm in narrow width – which forced the migrants to stand.
They could not move to any meaningful degree and were not provided with water, the prosecutor told al Mustafa’s trial.
Two of the migrants had lost consciousness by the time they were rescued.
The van driven by Anas al Mustafa
An Australian nurse and passenger on the ferry, Sari Gehle, responded to a call to assist the crew and described the female casualty as “terrified”, gripping her arm tightly and repeatedly saying: “Vietnam, Vietnam” – so she understood the group were from there.
She said that the other male casualties were on the floor, with one vomiting, and another with a cut across his left shoulder.
After the verdict, Mr Corsellis told the court that while the younger migrants recovered from the dehydration and heat, one man had a possible heart attack, one woman had acute kidney injury and another man went to hospital in a comatose state and suffered a stroke.
Speaking after the verdict, Chris Foster, the Home Office’s criminal investigations regional lead for London and south, said: “Frankly, how somebody didn’t die I don’t really know.
He added that the stroke was believed to be “a direct result of being held in that van and, even today, now, he has difficulty walking and he suffers with memory loss”.
Mr Corsellis had earlier said: “The heat created by seven people in such a small space and the lack of sufficient air/oxygen had created a highly dangerous situation.
“It was no doubt this mortal emergency that forced the migrants to call for help in desperation.”
The ferry Seven Sisters at Newhaven ferry port after migrants were found in the back of a lorry. File pic: PA
Father-of-two al Mustafa had denied assisting unlawful immigration to the UK, saying the day the migrants were found was the “most difficult” of this life.
Speaking through an Arabic interpreter, he told Lewes Crown Court: “I was in a situation where the shock was too massive I was almost out of consciousness.”
Al Mustafa, who is originally from Syria but moved to the UK in 2011, told the court he was paid £500 by a man he met in Syria to drive the van to Liverpool to get an MOT.
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Ms Gehle said one person “stood out” during the discovery.
She described them as an Asian man with a puffer jacket who was “sitting on the ground seemingly scrolling through his mobile telephone”. He was “remarkably calm”, in Ms Gehle’s view.
The prosecutor identified that man as al Mustafa.
The self-employed construction worker will be sentenced on 6 September.
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The government said that al Mustafa’s conviction sent a “clear message” to people traffickers.
Border security minister Dame Angela Eagle said: “This appalling incident could have easily ended in tragedy and everyone who was squashed inside this criminal’s van is incredibly lucky to still be alive.
“We are sending a clear message that we will not tolerate this sort of life-threatening activity.
“Our new Border Security Command will work with partners across Europe to smash the business models of the criminal smuggling gangs and halt their activities long before they reach the UK.”
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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Wrexham AFC have been promoted for the third season in a row.
The North Wales-based side has gone from the National League to the Championship in just three seasons, under its Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Wrexham were second in the table and had a run of eight games unbeaten ahead of their match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, which they won 3-0.
Wrexham’s James McClean lifts the League One trophy. Pic: PA
Wrexham’s Dan Scarr celebrates with the fans on the pitch after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
It is the first time any club has been promoted for three consecutive seasons within the top five tiers of English football.
The third oldest association football club in the world, Wrexham AFC was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2020, and has since been the subject of a Disney+ documentary, Welcome To Wrexham.
Reynolds, wearing a Wrexham sweatshirt, and McElhenney were pictured celebrating each goal, and after the game, as the fans came onto the pitch at the SToK Cae Ras (Racecourse Ground) to celebrate the victory with the players.
Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney (L) and Ryan Reynolds and Ryan’s wife Blake Lively, before the match. Pic: PA
Both stars came onto the pitch after the supporters returned to the stands.
Speaking to Sky Sports, McElhenney praised those behind the scenes, referring to “so many that don’t get the credit they deserve, people who aren’t talked about”.
Reynolds said bringing success back to the club “seemed like an impossible dream” when they arrived in North Wales in 2020.
Wrexham’s Sam Smith celebrates in front of the fans after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
He put the three promotions down to “the coaching staff, the greatest dressing room” and an “all for one, one for all” attitude throughout the club, adding he was “speechless with their commitment and their emotion”.
As for the mouth-watering prospect of another promotion to the promised land of the Premier League, the pair agreed it was “for tomorrow”, before ending the interview with a joint mic-drop.
Veteran striker Steven Fletcher said, “as soon as I came to this club, I knew it was something special. We want to go again. We’ll reset in the summer, take a break and go again”.
“It has been a success.”
Just Stop Oil (JSO) insists it’s been “successful” – as its members ceremoniously hang up their orange high-vis vests during a march in central London.
Since the group formed three years ago, it’s drawn attention and criticism for its colourful, controversial protests, which ranged from disrupting sporting events to throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and climbing on gantries over the M25. It sprayed orange paint over Stonehenge, and cost police forces tens of millions of pounds.
Those days are now behind it; to the relief of many.
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As a few hundred activists marched through London on Saturday, blocking roads as they went; taxi drivers blared their horns and football fans shouted abuse from the pavement.
The PA News Agency filmed the moment a white minivan seemed to drive towards a group of protesters blocking the road.
Protesters shouted “I’m being pushed back!” to police, while the driver could be heard shouting “What about my right to get home?” to the officers gathered.
But JSO never set out to be popular. And it believes its tactics – though hated – have been successful; thanks to the new Labour government’s commitment to not issue new oil or gas exploration licences.
That’s why, it says, its ceasing direct action.
JSO hangs up its high-vis jackets in central London on Saturday
A washing line of high-vis jackets signifies JSO’s disbanding
“This moment marks the success of the JSO campaign – our demand was to end new oil and gas licences and that is now government policy.
“As a result of which four billion barrels of oil are being kept under the North Sea. The campaign has reached a natural end.”
Dr Oscar Berglund, senior lecturer in international public and social policy, disagrees that JSO is disappearing because it’s been “successful”.
He told Sky News policing strength and public perception might have more to do with it.
“They have very low levels of popularity. About 17% of the British population are kind of broadly supportive of what Just Stop Oil do. And that’s too low to recruit.
“It’s difficult to recruit members to something that is that unpopular, and then that a lot of people for good reason I think have kind of stopped believing in that kind of disruption as a means to achieve meaningful change.”
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One thing it did change is the law.
Policing commentator Graham Wettone tells us: “Obstruction of the highway, obstruction of rail networks for example, these are specific offences now.
“It’s given the police more tactics, more methods, more offences they can consider, even stopping and searching somebody who may have something to either lock themselves on or glue themselves to something.”
A JSO activist holds a picture of an imprisoned colleague
Emma Smart was held in prison for her activism with both Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil.
“The high-vis might be going away,” she tells me, “but we aren’t.”
“These people aren’t going anywhere, we are still committed, dedicated, terrified by the failings of this government and governments around the world.”
JSO activists throw orange paint at van Gogh’s sunflowers
Orange smoke set off by JSO protesters at Stonehenge
She hopes for a time of reflection before it returns in a new form but says the need for climate activism is stronger than ever.
She also believes that while most people dislike JSO tactics, it still raises awareness of the cause and might even push people to more moderate campaign groups.
Just Stop Oil came behind other, similarly controversial climate campaign groups like Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion, and as it says goodbye, its disruptive methods have been seized upon by other organisations like the Pro-Palestinian Youth Justice.
The infamous Just Stop Oil orange vests might be going away, but the individual activists, their cause and campaign tactics feel here to stay.
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