An Indian man who admitted smuggling migrants from the U.K. to France in the back of trucks has been jailed for more than five years by a court in south-east England.
Jaskirat Singh, 25, was prosecuted by the U.K.'s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) over his role in facilitating the illegal movement of non-British nationals between December 2024 and March 2026.
Earlier this month, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to facilitate illegal immigration.
Singh, who was sentenced by the Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday (June 18, 2026), is believed to have earned around 185,000 pounds through the illegal operations.
“The plot was exposed when 11 Indian nationals were found hiding in the trailer of a lorry stopped at Dover in December 2024. The information they provided, along with four other Indians found in a separate lorry travelling to France in January 2025, led authorities to Singh and his address in Wolverhampton," the CPS said.
The CPS said an Immigration Enforcement-led investigation uncovered extensive incriminating material on Singh's mobile devices, including voice notes, images, messages and videos. Some of the images had been saved from TikTok and advertised crossings to France.
He was sentenced to five years and three months after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration to a member state.
“Jaskirat Singh played a key role in organising the illegal movement of people from the UK to France using lorries, putting individuals at serious risk in the process," said Peter Cockrill, District Crown Prosecutor for CPS South East.
“The evidence showed he was coordinating drivers, arranging payments and actively involved in a sustained operation over many months,” said Cockrill, adding: “We will now apply for a confiscation order to recover as much of his criminal profit as possible.”
Singh was arrested and interviewed by Immigration Enforcement officers and subsequently charged.
Among the evidence was a video, likely filmed by Singh, showing a large number of 20-pound notes spread out on a bed.
Another video, filmed by someone else, showed migrants getting off a lorry in an unknown location, with the person filming saying, “U.K. to France”, suggesting it was a successful smuggling incident.
“Singh bragged in a voice message about successfully arranging for up to 60 people to be driven to France every week over nine months, but it is not clear if he was exaggerating to get more business," the CPS said.
One string of messages found on Singh’s phone, dated June 2025, was with a Romanian mobile number, discussing payment for 15 people who had been smuggled to France in a lorry. The chat confirmed the driver was paid 5,500 pounds for the “human cargo”.
The CPS said confiscation proceedings would now be initiated to recover the proceeds of Singh’s criminal activity and ensure he does not benefit from it in the future.
Published - June 21, 2026 05:50 am IST
United Kingdom / France / crime
Source: The Hindu - India News
