Two Ukrainians have been jailed for running a “VIP service” people smuggling operation transporting illegal migrants from France to Britain in a yacht.
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), the rough British equivalent of the American FBI, arrested Ukrainian nationals Vladyslav Cherniavskyi, 37, and Oleksandr Yavtushenko, 43, last July during an operation confronting the illegal migrant crisis in the English Channel.
After tracking the Uforia yacht from the port of Le Havre to British waters off the coast of the Isle of White, the boat was intercepted and brought to the Haslar Marina in Gosport, Hampshire by specialist Border Security Command maritime officers.
In addition to the two Ukrainian nationals, the boat was carrying four Albanian men and one Vietnamese woman who were seeking to illegally enter the United Kingdom by crossing the Channel from France.
Two of the illegals told the NCA that they had been instructed by their handlers to stay at a hotel in Fecamp, France, where they first met with the two Ukrainian people smugglers before taking the Uforia up to Le Havre and ultimately setting off for Britain.
One of the migrants said that they had paid £16,000 for the “VIP service” boat trip to the UK, while another told investigators that they agreed to pay £13,000 after they arrived in Britain.
Perhaps giving an insight as to why one would pay such an exorbitant sum for a simple boat ride, one of the migrants was already wanted in Britain for a drug offence, meaning that standard means of entry were likely off limits for him.
The pair of Ukrainian people smugglers, Cherniavskyi, who owned the Uforia yacht, and Yavtushenko, who served as the boat’s skipper, pleaded guilty to facilitating illegal immigration at the Portsmouth Crown Court in November. Last week, Cherniavskyi was sentenced to six years behind bars, and Yavtushenko was given a five-year sentence. The Uforia was also ordered to be forfeited.
Commenting on the case, NCA Branch Commander Saju Sasikumar said: “These men ran what can only be described as a kind of ferry service, moving small numbers of people over the channel each time, but charging them a premium price for the service.
“They stood to make tens of thousands of pounds for each trip, but we were able to work with our French partners to stop this enterprise in its tracks.
“Targeting people smugglers like this remains a priority for the NCA, and we’re doing all we can to disrupt and dismantle the gangs involved, wherever they operate.”
While Prime Minister Sir Keir StamerUkrainians Busted for Running ‘VIP Yacht’ Migrant Smuggling Operation into Britain centred his government’s response to the migrant crisis around “smashing” the people smuggling gangs operating on both sides of the Channel, this has coincided with a decline in illegal crossings.
In fact, more illegal migrants have successfully reached British shores from the continent under Prime Minister Starmer than any other PM in history, with around 66,000 arriving illegally since he came to power in the middle of 2024.
