A Sudanese asylum seeker has been jailed after a woman on the small boat he was piloting fell overboard and drowned off the coast of France.
Despite the death of the woman, Howmalow Mawum-Duop, 22, continued to pilot the boat with more than 70 migrants on board, until it was intercepted by Border Force vessels off the Kent coast.
Mawum-Duop, was arrested by National Crime Agency officers and charged with immigration offences on his arrival in Dover.
He told officers that he’d left Sudan in February 2021 and passed through Chad, Libya, Tunisia and Italy on his way to France.
Howmalow Mawum-Duop was piloting a boat filled with 70 migrants (stock pic)
PA/Handout
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said a young man wearing a bright green hoodie was spotted in control of the steering.
They said he turned off the engine, and attempted to move away from the tiller as the Border Force vessel - who were in communication with the French authorities - approached.
Despite claiming that he had not been in control of the vessel at any time, or asked for payment from any of the individuals on board, Mawum-Duop later pleaded guilty to facilitating illegal immigration.
He was sentenced to 18 months in jail at Canterbury Crown Court.
Howmalow Mawum-Duop was sentenced to 18 months in prison
Police handout
Kathryn Philpott, NCA Senior Investigating Officer, said: “Tackling people smuggling is one of the highest priorities for the National Crime Agency, and we are determined that individuals who put other people’s lives at risk in pursuit of profit are held accountable.
“Working closely with our partners in France, we were able to stop this boat off the coast of England, safeguard those aboard and ensure that Mawum-Duop was brought to justice.”
The investigation into the death of the female migrant, which is being led by the French authorities, continues.