A man has been found guilty of smuggling 35 immigrants into the UK in a shipping container in which one man died.
Taha Sharif, 38, of High Cross Road, Tottenham, was found guilty of facilitating illegal entry into the country after a six week long trial at Basildon Crown Court.
The court heard 35 people, all Afghan nationals who were seeking asylum, were found inside a shipping container which arrived at the Port of Tilbury, Essex, from Belgium on August 16 last year.
The group of 10 men, 10 women and 15 children were found in cramped conditions at 6.30am by port staff and one man, Meet Singh Kapoor, 40, was found dead.
The court heard the group had paid up to £28,000 per family to travel to the UK, with the adult men selling their businesses, stock and jewellery to escape persecution from radical Muslims in Afghanistan.
When the container arrived at the port, staff heard banging inside and subsequently found the immigrants.
The group were taken to hospitals across south Essex to receive treatment for shock, exhaustion and dehydration before being interviewed by police taken into the care of the UK Border Force agencies.
The group told police they feared for their lives on the journey as there were just two holes on the side of the container to let air through, no toilets and children were sick into carrier bags.
Detective Chief Inspector Martin Pasmore, from Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "It must be remembered that during this sickening incident Meet Singh Kapoor lost his life; my thoughts are very much with his wife, children, family and friends at this time.
“The first two days of this incident were particularly difficult for the surviving asylum seekers and I am very grateful to the local Sikh community and the Red Cross who were instrumental in quickly building a rapport between the victims and police as well as providing food and essential items.”
Timothy Murphy, 34, who lives in Belgium, was found not guilty of the same offence while the jury was unable to reach a verdict on both Stephen Mclaughlin, 35, of County Londonderry and Martin McGlinchey, 48, of County Tyrone.
Sharif will be sentenced at a later date.
