A man who attempted to smuggle four Albanian men into the UK has been jailed for 32 months.

Dhurim Bucur, himself Albanian, of Stevenson Close, Barnet was stopped in a Mercedes with four passengers by the Border Force at Holyhead Ferry Port, on November 28.

He appeared at Caernarvon Crown Court on December 21 charged with assisting unlawful immigration into the UK.

Bucur, 27, drove a borrowed car and claimed he had picked up the four men - who it is alleged told him they were Italian – as they hitchhiked in Ireland.

But when Border Force officers searched the car Albanian identification documents for all four men were discovered and further immigration checks confirmed none of the passengers had any legal basis to enter the UK.

Dave Magrath, deputy director of the immigration enforcement criminal and financial investigation team, said: “This was not an opportunistic offence, but a planned attempt to circumvent the UK’s immigration rules.

“Mr Bucur and his passengers wrongly perceived Holyhead as a weak spot in the UK’s border controls.”

Anyone with information about suspected immigration abuse can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously or visit http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org