Jail for man who posed for selfies on boat carrying 50 migrants
A man who posed for selfies while piloting a small boat with 50 migrants on board has been jailed. Egyptian-national Reda Hamoud Abdurabou, 25, ‘gloated’ as he took charge of a dangerously overcrowded small boat during an attempt to reach the UK illegally in July 2022, a court heard.
Abdurabou was jailed for 38 months on Friday after being found guilty of assisting unlawful immigration to the UK and attempting to enter the country illegally. During the trip he took pictures of himself on his mobile that would later be used as evidence by the Home Office’s Criminal and Financial Investigations (CFI) unit.
The images were taken moments before the dinghy was intercepted by Border Force and show Abdurabou posing with his hand on the tiller as he steered the boat towards Britain. Migrants were seen by officers balancing on the edge of the inflatable, with others sat on the floor of the boat where fuel-contaminated water often pools on top of makeshift flooring.
After his sentencing, Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said: “This pilot brazenly tried to flout our laws, and has rightly been brought to justice today. Putting lives at risk by steering men, women and children across the Channel in flimsy dinghies will not be tolerated and we will continue to work relentlessly to stop these completely unnecessary crossings and ensure those responsible are put behind bars.”
During the hearing today, Kate Davies, prosecuting, told Salisbury Crown Court that Abdurabou was arrested when Border Force officials intercepted a rigid inflatable boat just over eight miles from Dover. During a police[1] interview, the defendant accepted that he had been piloting for around an hour-and-a-half – but claimed others had also taken the leading role on the journey.
He told officers that he had made numerous other unsuccessful attempts to access the UK unlawfully, including in a lorry. A total of 50 other people were found on the boat, including 24 Albanians and 15 Afghans among some Syrians and an Iraqi.
While some of those have successfully claimed asylum in the UK, most have had their asylum applications withdrawn or their whereabouts is unknown. One of the men has since been convicted of cultivating cannabis and jailed for 16 months.
Philip Hill, defending, said the venture was a “joint enterprise” and they “all wanted to achieve the same thing”. He said they all “helped carry the boat into the water and there were other people involved in the piloting and navigating” but only Abdurabou was charged. Mr Hill told of how the defendant was “sharing a cell with someone from Iraq”, adding that they “don’t enjoy a very happy relationship”.
He continued: “He goes to school [in prison] and gets £7 a week, he uses that to pay for calls to his family. It’s difficult for him, he obviously doesn’t like being locked up, who would? His whole venture was very misconceived from the get-go.”
Mr Hill said that Abdurabou was being contacted by people who had made it to England, some telling him it was “fantastic” because they had been put up in a hotel.
“You can’t blame him – you can blame him for being stupid enough,” he added.
His Honour Judge Timothy Mousley KC jailed Abdurabou for 38 months.
He told the defendant: “This was not your first attempt to enter the UK unlawfully and that increases the sentence. You were identified as the person who steered the boat. When you were asked why you were coming to the UK, you said you were looking for a better life. In my opinion, that puts you into the category of an economic migrant.”
Abdurabou will serve half of his sentence in custody and the rest on licence. The defendant, who was witnessed piloting the boat before it was intercepted, was arrested on arrival in the UK and his mobile phone was seized.
Immigration Enforcement officers worked quickly to interview, charge and remand Abdurabou on the day of his arrival. Investigating teams found messages on his phone about his attempt to reach the UK illegally, along with the collection of selfies taken as he piloted the boat, putting dozens of lives in danger. One selfie shows the defendant, wearing a yellow hoodie and a baseball cap, smiling as he sits at the stern of the boat perilously close to the water line.
Speaking after the case, Chris Foster, deputy director of criminal and financial investigations at the Home Office, said: “This defendant gloated as he risked dozens of lives by crossing the Channel illegally. Anyone willing to take the helm of these small boats can expect to be arrested and prosecuted.
“I want to praise the quick work of my officers who have brought this criminal to justice. His sentence shows that our teams are working relentlessly to clamp down on this illegal trade.”