Stowaways * UK - Cost hauliers and drivers £1.5m in fines

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) collected more than £1.5m in fines during 2008 from HGV drivers and hauliers caught carrying stowaways into Britain

London,UK -Road Transport, by Joanna Bourke -3 April 2009: -- Over 1,700 penalties were imposed on those "trying to smuggle illegal immigrants into the UK", the agency has revealed... Fines were only collected in cases where the company did not have an effective system in place and the drivers did not operate a system in line with the UKBA's Prevention of Clandestine Entry: Code of Practice... Agency head Brodie Clark highlights the ports of Calais and Dunkirk and rest stops in Belgium as hotspots for stowaways trying to enter trucks... The maximum combined fine per stowaway is £4,000. UKBA adds that it will pursue all unpaid debts...