A lorry driver was charged yesterday with smuggling 28 immigrants into Britain only a month after 58 Chinese immigrants were found suffocated in the back of a lorry in Dover, a sign that Britain remains a favourite destination for human traffickers.
Mr Julian Lee (26), was chased by up to eight police cars for nearly 100 km after refusing to stop as he drove off a cross-Channel ferry on Saturday at Dover, in south-east England, arriving from Calais, France.
More than an hour later, the British driver's lorry was forced into a ditch.
Police confirmed yesterday that 30 would-be immigrants, all men, were found inside, but that Mr Lee had only been charged in 28 of the 30 cases.
"I can confirm that there were 30 people in the back of the lorry. Lee has been charged in connection with 28 of them. The issue of the other two is an issue we will be resolving," said a spokesman for the Kent police.
A Home Office spokesman said the 30 men were all from Bangladesh, and were between the ages of 20 and 45.
Only one of the men has requested political asylum in Britain, where he will remain until his case is reviewed, the spokesman added.
"Six left yesterday [Saturday] and another 23 are due to be taken to France tomorrow [today]. France has agreed to taken them back.
"None of the men was injured in the incident and they were all taken straight to police stations. The main thing is they are on their way back," the spokesman said.
Mr Lee faces a record fine of £56,000 - £2,000 pounds for each immigrant - under recently introduced laws which apply even if the driver is unaware that the vehicle is carrying the illegal passengers.
Mr Lee was treated for an arm injury, and a policeman was treated for a back injury after the chase, which damaged two police cars.
Mr Lee, whose declared profession is a supermarket stocks manager, was released on bail and ordered to appear before a court on Friday in Folkestone.
On June 19th, 58 illegal immigrants, all from the Fujian province of China, were found suffocated in the back of a lorry at Dover.
Another two survived the cross-channel trip from Zeebrugge in Belgium.
China tops the list of countries from which immigrants leave for Britain, with Sri Lanka a close second.
A crackdown by British authorities following the Dover tragedy has clearly failed to discourage traffickers, who can earn up to £20,000 per immigrant.