Two Ukrainian nationals have appeared in court charged with smuggling migrants into the UK on a yacht. Vladyslav Cherniavskyi, 37, and Oleksandr Yavtushenko, 43, faced Portsmouth Crown Court on charges of facilitating illegal immigration.
The charges follow the interception of a yacht off the Isle of Wight on July 20. The operation involved the National Crime Agency (NCA), Border Force, and French law enforcement, with the vessel escorted into Gosport Marina in Hampshire.
Four migrants—three Albanian males and a Vietnamese female—were handed over to immigration authorities, according to the NCA. Judge David Melville KC adjourned the hearing until October 3, with a trial date set for January 12. Both defendants were remanded in custody.
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