A Scottish lorry driver hid migrant children in tires as part of a smuggling plot from France to the UK.
Duncan McLaughlin drove Vietnamese people, including eight children, from France to Belgium. They were scheduled to board a ferry to England in March 2020. This happened soon after 39 people died on a similar trip.
Each migrant paid £15,000 for the trip to the UK. They hid in used tires. Belgian police worked with UK officers to track the truck. Police stopped it in Belgium before it boarded the ferry.
McLaughlin, 64, got arrested near Bruges, and all ten migrants were rescued. He was released but fled. In October 2021, he was found guilty in his absence and received 37 months in jail and an 88,000 euro fine.
His partners, Eoin Nolan, 53, and Daniel Loughran, 36, also faced trial and were found guilty of helping illegal entry. The verdict came after a five-week trial, with sentencing set for April 16.
Nolan and Loughran worked together to organize moving the migrants from Belgium on March 5, 2020. This was before the 39 people died in a similar incident.
Nolan found the driver for the trip and sent McLaughlin from Scotland to Kent. McLaughlin picked up a truck and took a ferry to France.
McLaughlin then picked up the migrants. Throughout the drive, McLaughlin kept in touch with Nolan to ensure the migrants were picked up on time.
Wayne Sherlock, 44, was already found guilty of helping and got four years in prison. Loughran moved a truck to Kent for the smuggling attempt on March 4, 2020.
Messages showed detailed plans covering routes and hiding. Migrants had to load in the dark, could sleep inside the tires, and had to stay still.