FERRARI She and her ex Aaron Harris had tried to smuggle a van-load of Vietnamese immigrants into Britain

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Katy Bethel, 28, sobbed in the dock as a judge rejected her pleas to remain free for the sake of her young children. She and then-partner Aaron Harris had tried to smuggle a van-load of Vietnamese immigrants into Britain hidden inside stacks of tyres. Bethel was expecting her fourth child and hoped her pregnancy would be “good cover”, a court heard. But officials at the UK control zone near Calais in France opened the doors of the van and spotted a pair of jean-clad legs sticking out of piled-high tyres. Bethel told a jury she had no idea the Mercedes Sprinter was carrying an “illicit cargo”. She claimed she and Harris had gone on a last-minute, cross-Channel trip to stock up on drink to celebrate after she gave birth.

It goes without saying that assisting unlawful immigration into the UK is big business Judge Philip Statman

But jurors found her guilty last month after hearing how there was no alcohol in the van. She wept as Judge Philip Statman jailed her for two years and nine months yesterday for assisting unlawful immigration. The Vietnamese group of five women, four men and three children under 16 were found when the van was stopped in July 2015. Hot and exhausted, they were huddled in piles of tyres, Maidstone Crown Court, Kent, heard. Judge Statman said: “They were dishevelled, tired and distressed.

FERRARI One of the illegal immigrants was hiding in a stack of tyres

“It goes without saying that assisting unlawful immigration into the UK is big business and the situation here is that this was a sophisticated enterprise.” Judge Statman accepted that heavily pregnant Bethel had been used as a decoy to fool immigration officials at the border. He said: “I am very mindful indeed of the real concerns any judge will have in taking a mother away from a child of tender years. “There is a compelling need for these children to be returned to the care of a mother and I weigh that heavily. “But I regret to say that cannot lead me to suspend a prison sentence as it would ensure those at the top of the chain would inevitable turn to those who have this sort of family background, and pregnant mothers in particular, and use them so this evil activity of bringing people in from abroad will continue to take place. That is where the deterrent must hit home.”

FERRARI Harris was jailed for five years

Sophia Stapleton, defending, described Bethel as “naive” and added that, while she was involved in the people smuggling, she did not have a “prominent” role. During her trial, Bethel was asked why there was no alcohol in the van when she was supposed to be on a “booze cruise”. She claimed they did not buy any because they “kept getting lost”. Harris, 28, had admitted assisting unlawful immigration at an earlier hearing and was jailed for five years yesterday. The lorry driver feigned surprise when border officials saw legs poking out of a stack of tyres. “How did he get in?” he said to officers.

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