Vietnamese migrants crammed into a tiny hidden section of a van desperately tried to make emergency calls for help as they increasingly struggled to breathe, a jury was told.
Two of the unnamed migrants gave accounts which were summarised for a jury at Lewes Crown Court this afternoon (Wednesday 21 August).
Nick Corsellis, prosecuting referred to them as Migrant A and Migrant B as he read a set of “agreed facts” accepted by the defendant Anas Al Mustafa and his barrister Jack Triggs.
Mustafa, 43, is on trial for trying to smuggle or traffic seven Vietnamese migrants into Britain in a Ford Iveco Sprinter van aboard a Dieppe to Newhaven ferry in February.
They were rescued after they were heard banging and screaming for help, with a member of the ship’s crew using an axe to break into the tiny hidden section of the van.
Mr Corsellis said: “The migrants were all interviewed. All had interpreters … Emergency calls were attempted by them at 7.47am, 7.52am, 8am, 8.17am, 8.21am, 8.31am and 9.02am.”
He said: ““Migrant A told the officials that they had paid 400 euros to travel from Holland to France in a taxi.
“It was when in Paris that they had met the three Middle Eastern men who organised the trip to the UK.
“He was taken from Paris to a white van. The van was not in Paris but outside – in a quiet area in the countryside. There he met with six other people who were also all Vietnamese.
“They accessed the hide in the van by climbing on the top of the van. They used a ladder to get on top and then dropped down into the small space between the driver and the container.
“There were seven people in that space. There was enough space for seven people but they could not move. They were told not to talk and not to use their mobile phones.
“The people on the outside closed the lid. They were not sure what time they got in the van but thought that it was about 4am.
“When the van was moving, air circulated. When the van stopped, they did not have enough oxygen and it was difficult to breath.
“They had not been given food or water and some urinated on the floor. Because of the heat, some tried to take their clothes off.
“They banged on the walls to try to attract attention. Migrant A tried to get the drivers attention but he had left.
“Migrant A said that there was a small hole in the roof and a fan but the fan was not working.
“They then tried to throw their clothes out from the van to attract attention. After a time, someone came to open the top and let air in.
“Migrant A was not able to identify the driver or any of the males he dealt with.
“Migrant B told the officers that they flew from Vietnam to France. They went to the Vietnamese district in Paris. There they them met men who said that they could help.
“Migrant B was driven an hour outside of Paris. After three of four days, Migrant B was taken to a van.
“Migrant B did not see the men who took them as it was too dark. Migrant B did not see the driver of the van.
“Migrant B was put in a box behind the back of a van with others. Migrant B got into the box from the top where there was a fan.
“There were too many people inside. It was too dark to see how many – they thought five to seven – and everyone inside the box kept quiet.
“When the van was moving there was air but when the van stopped on the ferry there was no air and everyone was trying to get some air.
“People were shouting for help and banging. The driver was not in the vehicle now as the van was on the ferry.
“When asked, one of the migrants described the driver as ‘a white male, short, medium build, ginger hair’.
“All of the other migrants said that they would be unable to identify either the driver or any of the individuals involved in assisting them into the van in France.
“Three of the migrants said a Vietnamese man had organised the journey.”
Al Mustafa, a self-employed builder and handyman and a father of two, of Heather Crescent, Swansea, denies trying to smuggle migrants into Britain.
The trial continues.
