Two Vietnamese nationals who advertised small boat crossings to the UK on Facebook have been jailed following a joint UK-French investigation, according to the National Crime Agency.
Hoang My Tra Nguyen, 25, of Croydon, and Hop Cahn Nguyen, 36, of Leicester, were arrested in April 2024 after a five-month investigation into organised immigration crime. Both had previously arrived in the UK via small boats in 2023. The pair used Facebook accounts, alongside a third suspect awaiting extradition to France, to promote crossings from France to the UK, targeting Vietnamese nationals.
Posts included video footage of crossings and messages offering “cheap” routes into Europe, along with UK contact numbers to arrange journeys. Investigators found the pair helped coordinate crossings and facilitated onward movement within the UK, including assisting migrants to abscond after initial processing.
Evidence gathered by officers included mobile phones, SIM cards and ledgers detailing routes, costs and individuals involved. In one instance, Hop Cahn Nguyen was stopped at Euston station with migrants who had recently crossed the Channel.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to assisting unlawful immigration at Croydon Crown Court in August 2024. Hop Cahn Nguyen was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Hoang My Tra Nguyen received a sentence of 10 years and six months.
The NCA said the operation formed part of wider efforts to disrupt organised immigration crime networks, including working with social media companies to remove content promoting illegal crossings.
