A French court has jailed an Imam for nine months for his role in helping smuggle migrants across the English Channel to the UK.
The 39-year-old Iranian national, who is unnamed in French media, was banned from visiting Nord and Pas-de-Calais, popular crossing points from France to Britain, for three years.
French newspaper Le Figaro reported that the a 29-year-old Senegalese man who attended the Imam’s mosque was also on trial for helping migrant illegally cross the Channel.
French police raided the Imam’s home after a life jackets, wet pullovers and a rubber dinghy were discovered on a beach in northern France in March this year where they discovered two boats, three outboard engines and life jackets.
Both defendants admitted they had purchased the sea faring equipment in Belgium in late 2018 but claimed they only realised later that the boats were being used for illegal Channel crossings.
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