A MAN who tried to help get illegal immigrants into the UK has been jailed.
Paramjit Singh Chopra, 33, of Norwood Close, Southall, was originally arrested by Border Force officers at Heathrow on Monday 23 May 2011.
A British national originally from Afghanistan, he had been involved in several attempts to bring Afghan nationals into the UK and Ireland.
The first of these was back in February 2011, when four individuals believed to be Afghan nationals were refused entry to Ireland after arriving in Dublin on a flight from Paris.
They had attempted to use four British passports. Investigations by immigration officers showed that Chopra had booked the flights.
Two months later, an Afghan family arrived at Heathrow Terminal 4 and attempted to enter the UK using three genuine British passports, including those belonging to Chopra’s wife and child. His fingerprints were later found on their boarding passes.
Five days after that, another group of Afghans arrived at Terminal 5, again trying to use British passports. Chopra’s fingerprints were found on one of the documents.
After his arrest, he pleaded guilty to eight charges of attempting to facilitate illegal immigration and one charge of money laundering.
A judge at Isleworth Crown Court sentenced him to three years and eight months in prison on Thursday June 27.
Senior investigating officer, Jon Bush, said: "Chopra’s scam saw him attempt to pass off Afghan migrants as genuine British passport holders. Thanks to the vigilance of Border Force officers and the hard work of our investigators he has been stopped from helping illegal immigrants into the country.”
Anyone with information about immigration crime can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
