A man who crammed 21 migrants into a small luxury yacht and attempted to smuggle them into Britain has been jailed.
Albanian national Bleda Bega was captaining the 23ft vessel when it was intercepted in the English Channel en route to Newquay on South Coast.
Border Force officers searched the boat and found 21 passengers - 20 men and one woman - hidden below the family cruiser’s deck on April 13.
The Albanian nationals were found in “cramped, dangerous conditions without adequate life-saving equipment” on the yacht made for six passengers.
At Truro Crown Court on Friday, Bega, 44, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months after admitting attempting to smuggle migrants into the UK.
At a previous hearing, Albanian nationals Florjand Lika, 30, and Romeo Zani, 32, were jailed for 12 months after they paid to travel on board and attempted to covertly enter Britain, despite both being previously deported.
The boat used, named the Tacamo, appears to be a Beneteau Oceanis Clipper 343 and is described as a family cruising yacht. Versions are on sale online for between £50,000 to £80,000. It has two cabins, six beds and one bathroom.
Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle said: “This sentence shows Border Force work to tackle attempts to enter the UK illegally by these criminal smuggling gangs.
“They have been using state of the art technology and surveillance capabilities.
“Anyone who seeks to smuggle people into the country in this way faces arrest, prosecution and a jail sentence.”
It comes as criminal people smuggling gangs find new ways of evading authorities after a fast-track returns deal led to a sharp decline in Albanians arriving in small boats.
On Sunday, seven people were arrested after a yacht carrying suspected migrants was intercepted in the English Channel.
The vessel, which came from northern France, was discovered by a Border Force cutter off the Isle of Wight, the National Crime Agency said.
Two Ukrainian men, aged 43 and 37, were arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration.
Five passengers - four Albanians and a Vietnamese national - were detained under immigration laws.
On Wednesday, the Foreign Office will impose the first wave of sanctions on people trafficking gangs and their enablers, such as financiers, fake passport suppliers, corrupt police officers and public officials, as well as firms selling the equipment used to make the journey from France to the UK.
Migrant smuggling gang leaders and companies supplying small boat equipment will face having their assets frozen and being banned from Britain in a crackdown on illegal Channel crossings.
