French police pulled dead woman and child off migrant boat and let people smugglers carry on to UK
3 June 2025, 13:43 | Updated: 3 June 2025, 15:13
Two people smugglers have been jailed after piloting a boat across the Channel from France to the UK, which saw a woman and child die shortly after setting off.
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Afghan nationals Shah Salim Sajjadi, 38, and Safiollah Mohammadi, 25, were arrested after the boat arrived into UK waters on Wednesday May 21.
The small boat was carrying more than 70 people.
Shortly after its departure from a beach near Calais earlier in the day a woman and child had been pulled off the over-crowded boat by a French coastal patrol vessel and declared dead.
Police in France are now investigating the circumstances of the fatalities under the direction of the Dunkirk prosecutor’s office.
The pair were allowed to continue making the perilous crossing of the Channel, despite the deaths of a woman and child on board and the encounter with police.
The pilots of the boat were detained and questioned by investigators from the National Crime Agency after their arrival into Dover.
Read more: Starmer 'loses control' on immigration as 1,194 migrants cross Channel in a day
The men were later charged with facilitating illegal immigration to the UK, and pleaded guilty at a hearing at Folkestone Magistrates on May 24.
They were sentenced to eight months in prison.
NCA Branch Commander Adam Berry said: “This tragic incident demonstrates just how dangerous these crossings are, and the callous nature of those who organise them.
“The boat in question was dangerously over-crowded, but Sajjadi and Mohammadi chose to carry on their journey.
“We continue to work with French colleagues to investigate the circumstances of this crossing and the fatalities.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
“The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.
“That is why this government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage.
“Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in Northern France and tougher legislation in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we are strengthening international partnerships and boosting our ability to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal gangs whilst strengthening the security of our borders.”
