Two Romanian lorry drivers who attempted to smuggle 49 people out of the UK and into France have been jailed.
Marius Bajenaru, 44, and Sorin-Costinel Ivan, 46, made it all the way to dover with the migrants hidden away before they were arrested by officers from the National Crime Agency on September 18, 2025.
Bajenaru was found with 17 migrants hidden in the back of his Romanian-registered panel van and almost £4,000 in cash in a black plastic bag.
Ivan had 32 people, mostly Bangladeshi, in the trailer of his lorry, as well as three bundles of cash worth £9,950 in the cab.
In an interview with NCA, Bajenaru confessed that he had collected the migrants from a layby on the A20 and was going to be paid around £200 for each person he smuggled.
Ivan also admitted visiting a layby on the same road, but initially denied any knowledge of the 32 people in his trailer. However, he later admitted a charge of facilitating illegal immigration.
Both men were sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday.
Ivan was jailed for three years and four months, while Bajenaru was given a jail sentence of two years and eight months.
National Crime Agency senior investigating officer John Turner said: ‘People smuggling gangs will pitch this as a low-risk way of making extra money to drivers, but as this case shows it is anything but.
‘Those caught face potentially life-changing prison sentences.
‘The criminal networks involved in this type of offending show no regard for the safety of those they transport, treating people as commodities.
‘Working with partners we are doing all we can to disrupt and dismantle their operations.’
Earlier this month, the NCA revealed that organised crime groups are targeting HGV drivers to smuggle illegal migrants in and out of the country.
Investigators said drivers are being tempted with thousands of pounds to transport migrants hidden in lorries – some knowingly loading people illegally into the back, while others are left instructions on where and when to leave vehicles open for migrants to climb in.
The NCA says that these smuggling operations are sophisticated, using legitimate freight loads as cover and exploiting drivers who might see it as a ‘low-risk’ way to make quick money.
They said gangs often offer lorry drivers lucrative payoffs or use threats to coerce them into cooperating.
In one of the most significant cases, seven members of a London-based smuggling network were jailed in July for organising journeys from the UK to France.
The gang, led by Algerian national Azize Benaniba, 41, used a network of HGV drivers to transport hundreds of migrants, including children as young as five, packed into airtight trailers.
Although everyone was found alive, many needed medical attention due to the conditions they had been left in.
Benaniba was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison, while his accomplices – all North African nationals – received sentences ranging from seven to 13 years.
