Romanian jailed for trafficking four Vietnamese teens in roof of van

People-trafficker who smuggled four Vietnamese teens into Britain by hiding them in a ‘coffin-like’ space in the roof of his van is jailed for three years

  •  Nicolai Bogdan Lungan, 32, accepted an offer of €6,000 to smuggle the teens

A Romanian people-smuggler who bolted four Vietnamese teens into a ‘coffin-like’ space in the roof of his van has been jailed for three years. 

Nicolai Bogdan Lungan, 32, accepted an offer of €6,000 – around £5,200 –  in February this year to drive a van containing hidden asylum seekers from Belgium into the UK.

He travelled by ferry from Dunkirk to Dover with children bolted shut inside his Romanian-registered Renault Master. When Lungan arrived at the Kent port, Border Force officers noticed the roof above the driver was covered with padded material and was unusually hot.

They swiftly stopped him and removed the material, revealing a hatch in the van roof which led to a hide where they found four 17-year-olds.

The migrants were found lying on bare metal in the cramped and insufficiently ventilated roof hatch (pictured), which had been bolted shut using power tools

Nicolai Bogdan Lungan (pictured) accepted an offer of €6,000, around £5,200, in February this year to drive a van containing hidden asylum seekers from Belgium into the UK

The migrants were found lying on bare metal in the cramped and insufficiently ventilated roof hatch, which had been bolted shut using power tools.

The children had no way of escaping from the hide without assistance.

When questioned by officers, Lungan claimed he was travelling to Glasgow to collect furniture that he intended to take back to Romania to open a barber shop.

He was jailed for three years at Canterbury Crown Court for assisting unlawful immigration into the UK.

Chris Foster, deputy director for the Home Office’s Criminal and Financial Investigations, said the migrants were kept in ‘atrocious conditions’.

When Lungan arrived at the Kent port, Border Force officers noticed the roof above the driver was covered with padded material and was unusually hot

He said: ‘I hope this sentencing sends a powerful message that breaking the law and putting individuals’ lives at risk will not go unpunished. My team work tirelessly to disrupt this type of illegal activity and we will continue to take action against those who put people’s lives in danger for the sake of making money.’

Last year ten people were sentenced after 39 Vietnamese men, women and children were found dead in the trailer of a lorry near the Dartford Crossing.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said: ‘These criminal and life-threatening attempts to smuggle people, including children, into the UK in these incredibly tight, coffin-like spaces are utterly abhorrent and we will not stand for it.

‘I would like to praise our immigration enforcement officers who are working around the clock to prevent this activity and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

‘No-one should be risking their lives to come to the UK illegally, and today’s case sends a clear message to the smuggling gangs that they will feel the full weight of the law.’

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