Two Vietnamese people smugglers, Hop Can Nguyen, 46, and Hoang My Tra Nguyen, 25, have been jailed for over a decade, according to multiple reports. Hop Nguyen was jailed for 12 years and Hoang Nguyen for 10 years and 6 months. The pair helped traffic at least 250 migrants into the UK, offering Channel crossings costing up to £18,000. Their operation generated an estimated £750,000, prosecutors said.
The Vietnamese smugglers advertised their services on Facebook and used the Zalo app for communication, multiple reports indicate. They were part of a wider people smuggling operation and worked with criminal syndicates, according to prosecutors. Their phones contained messages luring customers, including offers of 'direct flights to the UK' and cheap prices. The smugglers themselves arrived in the UK by small boat, multiple reports state, and later disappeared from Home Office accommodation after arriving.
These are the first convictions in three months since French authorities adopted new powers to arrest suspected smugglers on the water, according to multiple reports. However, the French maritime interception policy has led to only two interventions on water since December, the same reports indicate.
Other recent smuggling convictions include an 18-year-old Iranian, Aram M., who was jailed for 18 months for piloting a 'taxi boat' intended for smuggling migrants across the Channel, according to multiple reports. A 19-year-old Afghan, Ahmed D., was jailed for 6 months for assisting illegal migration, multiple reports also state. In a separate case, a Sudanese teen, Hassan, was acquitted involving a boat intercepted on January 17.
One migrant said they had paid 16,000 British pounds (18,500 euros) for the crossing.
Two Ukrainian men, Vladyslav Cherniavskyi, 38, and Oleksandr Yavtushenko, 43, were jailed for smuggling migrants on a yacht. Cherniavskyi was sentenced to 6 years and Yavtushenko to 5 years. The Ukrainian smugglers made at least eight trips across the English Channel, according to multiple reports. Migrants paid up to 16,000 euros per trip on the yacht, the reports indicate.
The yacht was intercepted near the Isle of Wight on 20 July 2025 with four Albanian men and a Vietnamese girl onboard. The Ukrainian smugglers were caught as part of a joint operation after a tip-off from French authorities, the National Crime Agency said. According to the NCA, Ukrainian nationals Vladyslav C., 37, and Oleksandr Y., 43, were arrested during a law enforcement operation in July 2025 after authorities tracked their vessel into British waters. The investigation was led by the National Crime Agency after French officials alerted them that the yacht Uforia had departed from Le Havre, Normandy, in France. The notification came from investigators in Rouen acting under the authority of magistrates in Lille. Specialist maritime officers followed the yacht as it approached the UK coastline near the Isle of Wight. The vessel was intercepted at sea and escorted to Haslar Marina in Gosport, Hampshire. On board were the two crew members along with five migrants, four Albanian men and a Vietnamese woman, who were being transported irregularly into the UK. One of the men was already wanted in Britain after failing to appear in court over drug-related offences, suggesting he had previously entered the country unlawfully, authorities discovered. Migrants had been instructed to stay in a hotel in Fécamp, France, before being collected by the yacht, investigators later learned. The vessel had travelled along the French coast from Le Havre on 20 July before picking them up.
The NCA, working alongside French gendarmerie and Home Office intelligence teams, connected the yacht to multiple earlier suspected smuggling trips during 2024 and 2025. Evidence showed the Uforia had repeatedly visited marinas along England’s south coast, including in Brighton, the NCA said. In August 2024, the harbour master at Itchenor reported suspicious activity after the yacht arrived with six migrants on board. In another suspected journey in June 2025, the vessel left Fécamp with three migrants before heading toward the Chichester area.
Vladyslav C., the yacht’s owner, and Oleksandr Y., who served as its skipper, were charged with facilitating illegal immigration. Both men pleaded guilty at Portsmouth Crown Court on 14 November. On 12 March, a judge at the same court sentenced Vladyslav C. to six years in prison and Oleksandr Y. to five years. The court also ordered the seizure of the yacht.
Another migrant stated they were expected to pay 13,000 pounds after reaching the UK.
In a related equipment supply chain, four Syrian nationals were arrested in Germany for supplying boats, pumps, engines, and inner tubes to smuggling gangs, according to multiple reports. The Syrian gang earned up to £86,000 per vessel, investigators said. The equipment was made in Asia and imported from Turkey into Germany, the reports indicate.
Separately, eight people were arrested across France, Germany, and Hungary in March as part of a Vietnamese migrant smuggling gang dismantlement, multiple reports state. The Vietnamese gang charged up to €22,000 (£19,163) per migrant for the journey from Vietnam to the UK, according to the reports. The gang earned up to €3 million (£2.6 million) in revenue, transporting at least 15 people per month, authorities said. The Vietnamese gang used social media to target Vietnamese nationals and operated across several European countries, multiple reports indicate. According to Europol, the gang used an underground banking system to move funds between Europe and Vietnam.
In another case, three gangsters, Toni Liko, 42, Klement Gjika, 44, and Stelian Bodnariu, 37, were sentenced for smuggling Albanians into the UK in lorries, according to multiple reports. Liko and Gjika were sentenced to 5 years and 8 months, while Bodnariu received 3 years and 4 months. The lorry smuggling gang brought up to 20 Albanians into the UK over 18 months, though police believe the figure is likely higher, the reports state. M25 service stations were used as stopping points for transferring migrants between vehicles, according to Scotland Yard. According to the Met Police, the lorry smugglers arranged meetings via mobile phone with HGV drivers.
These convictions come amid ongoing migrant movements. 1,200 migrants crossed to England from France in March alone, bringing the 2026 total to 3,409, according to Home Office figures. The specific new powers French authorities adopted for maritime interception and how they are being implemented remain unclear. The identities and nationalities of the four Syrian nationals arrested in Germany for supplying smuggling equipment have not been disclosed. The total number of migrants smuggled by the lorry gang is unknown, as police believe the figure is higher than the reported up to 20. The current status and whereabouts of the Vietnamese smugglers who disappeared from Home Office accommodation are also not confirmed. The effectiveness and impact of the French maritime interception policy beyond the reported two interventions, including any future plans or adjustments, have not been detailed.