Three “amateurish” people smugglers who made several failed bids to transport migrants across the Channel have been jailed.
National Crime Agency (NCA) officers discovered the men made five attempts to smuggle Vietnamese nationals from France to the UK during a 10-day period in August 2018.
Ronald Scott and Paul Giglia untying Sorel Light at Dover Marina. Picture: NCA
The group was led by Folkestone’s Freddy Lawrence, 57, Keith Baigent, 63, and Paul Giglia, 64.
They conspired with associates Ronald Scott, Toby Lake and Stephen Chapman – the latter of whom was living in France and acted as the point of contact overseas.
They used a boat that Lawrence had bought from a yard on the Norfolk Broads for £30,000, with Baigent collecting it.
Scott, Lake and Chapman were arrested shortly before setting sail on their fourth and final smuggling attempt and prosecuted by French law enforcement, who were acting on information provided by the NCA.
Scott was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment, while Chapman was jailed for two years, and Lake one year.
During the final attempt, French police conducting surveillance near Wimereux, a coastal town between Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer, spotted the Sorel Light boat, which they used for four of the attempts, about 100 metres from the beach.
Freddy Lawrence with marina staff alongside Sorel Light at the marina in Norfolk. Picture: NCA
They saw 12 people of Vietnamese origin arriving on foot at a car park in the town who then split into several groups before gathering on the beach.
Flashes of light were seen from the boat with return signals coming from the migrants.
Some entered the water and swam towards the boat to try and get on board, at which point the French authorities intervened.
Chapman jumped into the sea and attempted to swim away but was apprehended.
Meanwhile, the person piloting the boat moved away at speed and caused several French officers to fall off a ladder and into the water.
However, the police caught up with the vessel and detained the people on board.
Freddy Lawrence and Keith Baigent (at the helm) where smoke can be seen coming from the rear of the vessel. Picture: NCA
There were 11 Vietnamese migrants, together with Lake and Scott. The twelfth migrant had fallen into the water and was also detained.
The NCA says the group relied on chance rather than experience by attempting to follow cross-channel ferries en-route to France.
All the crossing attempts happened in the days before the arrests in France – from Dover, Folkestone and Ramsgate. None were successful due to repeated mechanical issues with the boats.
When the Sorel Light’s engine failed, Lawrence borrowed a smaller ‘Piscator’ boat from a breakage yard in Hollingbourne, Kent, which itself had to be towed back to the UK following an attempted trip to France after it ran out of fuel.
He tried to hide his criminality by using eight pay-as-you-go phones, unregistered vehicles and cash payments made via third parties.
He would also use his associates’ phones and leave his at unrelated locations in an attempt to stay under the radar of law enforcement.
Paul Giglia boards the Sorel Light at Dover Marina. Picture: NCA
Lawrence was described by the NCA as a career criminal with 15 previous convictions between 1981 and 2024 for offences including supplying cocaine, producing class B drugs, ABH, burglary, and common assault.
He is currently serving a three-year prison sentence after being convicted of supplying class A drugs and money laundering in 2024.
He was arrested alongside Baigent and Giglia in October 2018 and all three were charged with assisting unlawful immigration in May 2022.
Lawrence pleaded guilty at Canterbury Crown Court on October 24, 2024, with Giglia and Baigent convicted at the same court on November 14 and 15 respectively.
At the same court today, Lawrence was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years imprisonment, Baigent to three years and nine months imprisonment and Giglia to three years and four months imprisonment.
NCA senior investigating officer Steven Ahmet said: “Although this was an amateurish criminal enterprise, the intention was clear – to smuggle vulnerable migrants to the UK using ramshackle vessels.
Paul Giglia (left) and Keith Baigent refuelling the ‘Piscator’ boat at Ramsgate marina. Picture: NCA
“These journeys would have put lives in peril as Lawrence and his accomplices, who between them had little sailing experience, were navigating through one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
“Their primary motivation was financial gain and they had no regard for the lives of the people they intended to transport.
“Working with our French partners we were able to put a stop the plot, dismantle the crime group and bring them to justice.
“We are determined to destroy the criminal networks behind organised immigration crime, and pursue every option available to save lives.”
Meanwhile, Minister for Border Security and Asylum Dame Angela Eagle added: “We are determined to protect our borders by taking down the unscrupulous people smuggling gangs who prey on vulnerable people and fuel dangerous and illegal journeys.
“These callous criminals put several lives on the line and their vile scheme could have easily ended in tragedy.
“I’d like to thank the skilled prosecutors and investigators involved for their tireless work to identify, disrupt and bring to justice these people-smugglers who abused our borders and put lives at risk.
“As part of this government’s Plan for Change, we are ensuring those who participate in this evil trade and threaten our security will face the full force of the law.”