Two men jailed for plotting to smuggle ten Vietnamese nationals to the UK

Two men who plotted to smuggle ten Vietnamese nationals, including eight children, into the UK by hiding them in a lorry full of worn-out tyres have been jailed.

Eoin Nolan, 53 and Daniel Loughran, 36, were convicted of conspiring to facilitate the illegal entry of foreign nationals into the UK after a trial in February this year.

The pair, along with others, planned to pick up ten Vietnamese nationals from France and smuggle them through Belgium into the UK.

At Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday, Loughran was sentenced to five and a half years for his leading role in the conspiracy, while Nolan received four years but had already served time in custody and under curfew.

On March 4, 2020, a HGV (heavy goods vehicle) lorry cab was driven from Northern Ireland to Dover on Loughran’s instructions, where it was met by Nolan and his boss Wayne Sherlock in a yard called Shamrock Recovery.

Sherlock, a director of Shamrock Recovery who played a leading role in the conspiracy, pleaded guilty in June 2020 and was sentenced to four years in prison in June 2022.

A driver, Duncan McLaughlin, who was convicted by Belgian authorities in 2021, had taken the lorry across the Channel to pick up the Vietnamese nationals, the court heard.

The plan was foiled on December 5 when Belgian authorities stopped McLaughlin and found the migrants hidden in the back of the lorry.

“When checking the trailer, which was loaded with worn-out tyres, it appeared that ten migrants were hiding between the tyres,” said Simon Jones, prosecuting.

Judge Robert Lazarus noted that Loughran had planned to repeatedly commit these offences, in an effort to gain “very large sums of money indeed”.

Phone records shown to jurors at trial indicated Loughran suggested a £25,000 fee for the drivers who made the trip.

It was unclear if Nolan received any special payment, though he was in contact with McLaughlin on the night of December 4, providing support he also offered to legitimate clients.

The court heard he was aware he was assisting people trafficking.

Judge Lazarus noted that immigration in the UK is a “divisive issue” fuelling “racism and hate” in the country.

The judge commended the “detective work” of the National Crime Agency (NCA) in bringing this case.

NCA Branch Commander David Cunningham said: “Nolan and Loughran’s organised crime group continued to relentlessly pursue making this crossing a success, despite it being just months after the tragic deaths of 39 migrants who had tried to make a similar journey.

“We saw in their communications that they faced issues finding a driver to smuggle the migrants but persisted anyway, despite the danger involved. They operated as a well-oiled machine and took £150,000 from these vulnerable migrants, most of whom were children, for their own pure greed.

“The group loaded old tyres to the trailer for the sole purpose of appearing to be a legitimate delivery and the migrants were told to hide within them, despite them being unstable and the potential for serious injury or worse if the journey had continued.

“The NCA will continue to tackle organised immigration crime and in our work with partners to bring criminal gangs like those Nolan and Loughran were involved in to justice.”

Maurice Henderson, who is alleged to have also been part of organised crime, is yet to stand trial and is listed for a mention hearing at Maidstone Crown Court on October 7.