A Dutch national has been sent to prison after UK Border Force officials boarded his yacht in the north sea.
Marco Den Hollander, 32, was sentenced on Friday 8 October to 5 years and seven months in prison at Ipswich Crown Court following an investigation by Border Force officers and Immigration Enforcement’s Criminal and Financial Investigations team.
On 27 May 2021, Dutch authorities alerted Border Force as the sailing vessel MORGANA II left their waters without authority.
The vessel was then tracked, intercepted and boarded by officers onboard HMC Searcher within UK territorial waters.
Marco Den Hollander was at the helm and informed Border Force officers that there were four people on board and that they were friends who he was bringing to the UK.
However, on inspection, officers found 9 Albanian nationals hidden in the cabin – 3 women (1 of whom was pregnant), two children (aged 4 – 6) and four men.
The vessel, passengers and skipper were brought ashore.
Officials then established that Den Hollander had hired the vessel in Holland – a subsequent search found only six life jackets for those making the dangerous crossing.
Den Hollander was subsequently charged with facilitating a breach of the UK’s immigration law and remanded in custody.
He pleaded guilty on 25 June 2021.
Tom Pursglove MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State said:
“These sorts of evil criminals are motivated by money alone and this man clearly had no regard for the people on board who he put into grave danger, which could have had tragic consequences.
“This case is an excellent example of the fantastic work of our frontline officers who are doing everything they can on land, sea and in the air to prevent illegal immigration and bring the criminals responsible to justice.
“Our new plan for immigration will change the law so those who facilitate these dangerous crossings will face a maximum of life imprisonment. They should be in no doubt about the seriousness of these crimes and the punishment they will face”.
David Fairclough, Criminal and Financial Investigations team said:
“Today’s sentencing sends a clear message to those that have a blatant disregard for the law and treat people like cargo, putting profits before lives.
“You will be brought to justice and pay for your crimes.
“The public should be in no doubt of our determination to crack down on these heinous criminals that facilitate people smuggling”.
CLICK HERE to check out our most popular videos and social media groups.
Recommended video:
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories & videos which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services & NHS by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' back in 2018 was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services & NHS which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of you, our readers.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.