Man jailed for ‘cramming’ woman and child in car boot in bid to smuggle them to Britain

A man has been jailed for cramming a pair of prospective migrants into the boot of his hire car in a bid to smuggle them to Britain.

Leon Leslie, from Birmingham, had wedged a pair of Vietnamese nationals – a woman, 20, and a girl, 14 – into his boot as he tried to illegally transport them across the border.

The pair were left “with little room to move or breathe” in what the Home Office called the “tiny” boot of the car – a blue Kia ProCeed.

Back in April last year, Border Force officers had pulled over a rental car that Leslie was driving in Coquelles, just outside Calais in France.

Upon searching the vehicle, they found the two people stashed in the car – which was set to be driven into the UK.

Leslie was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assisting unlawful immigration into the UK.

On questioning, Leslie refused to offer an explanation as to why the woman and girl were in his vehicle.

Today, he was handed his sentence after a hearing at Canterbury Crown Court following a Home Office investigation.

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At trial, the jury found him guilty of the charge of assisting unlawful immigration – and he was remanded until sentencing today, where he was slapped with a three-year prison sentence.

Reacting to Leslie’s sentencing, Home Office Criminal Investigation Officer Nadia Kehayova vowed to continue to “secure our borders” as she slammed Leslie’s “total disregard” for the pair of migrants’ safety.

She said: “This criminal crammed a young woman and a child inside his car boot with little room to move or even breathe, showing total disregard for their safety.

“The sole priority of these criminals is financial gain, at the expense of those they exploit under false promises of a better life in the UK.

“I am delighted our teams have stopped this criminal from succeeding.

“We will continue to work tirelessly to secure our borders and clamp down on the people who heartlessly endanger vulnerable people to make money.”