People-smuggling lorry driver Dalip Dosti jailed

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Custody photo of Dalip DostiImage source, Border Force
Image caption,
Dalip Dosti denied assisting unlawful immigration into the UK, but was found guilty by a jury

A lorry driver who tried to illegally smuggle two people into the UK has been jailed for four years.

Dalip Dosti, 42, from Cardiff, was stopped by border officials in France as he headed for the Channel Tunnel in May last year.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the pair, from Albania, were seen on CCTV leaving the truck before trying to hide in "hi-vis" jackets.

Dosti, who pleaded not guilty, was convicted following a trial.

Jurors were told Channel Tunnel freight passport controls close to the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles, near Calais, stopped the British-registered lorry shortly after midnight on 31 May 2018.

After Dosti's passport and paperwork for the load were checked, he was sent to the Border Force search lanes where physical checks were conducted on the vehicle - with no irregularities found.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
About 30,000 people and 60,000 tonnes of goods use the Eurotunnel each day

However, officials saw two men hiding behind a building close to the search lanes and noticed they were wearing jackets with the same branding as Dosti's lorry.

Dosti later claimed the men got into his truck while he was having his passport checked.

However, CCTV footage showed the defendant unloading two men in high-visibility jackets from his lorry before his vehicle was searched.

Officials described it as a "premeditated attempt" to breach UK border controls.

A Border Force spokesman said the two illegal migrants were handed over to the French Police Aux Frontieres.

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