PRESS RELEASE : Man (Reda Hamoud Abdurabou) who posed for selfies as he piloted small boat jailed [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Home Office on 6 September 2023.

An Egyptian man who posed for selfies while piloting a small boat with 50 migrants on board has been jailed for 3 years and 2 months.

Reda Hamoud Abdurabou, 25, was sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court on 1 September after being found guilty of assisting unlawful immigration to the UK and attempting to enter the country illegally.

Abdurabou took charge of a dangerously overcrowded small boat packed with 50 migrants during an attempt to reach the UK illegally in July 2022.

He took pictures of himself as he did so, saving images to his phone that would later be used as evidence by the Home Office’s Criminal and Financial Investigations (CFI) unit.

The images were taken moments before the dinghy was intercepted by Border Force and show Abdurabou posing with his hand on the tiller as he steered the boat towards the UK.

Migrants were seen by officers balancing on the edge of the inflatable, with others sat on the floor of the boat where fuel-contaminated water often pools on top of makeshift flooring.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said:

This pilot brazenly tried to flout our laws, and has rightly been brought to justice today.

Putting lives at risk by steering men, women and children across the Channel in flimsy dinghies will not be tolerated and we will continue to work relentlessly to stop these completely unnecessary crossings and ensure those responsible are put behind bars.

The defendant, who was witnessed piloting the boat before it was intercepted, was arrested on arrival in the UK and his mobile phone was seized.

Immigration Enforcement officers worked quickly to interview, charge and remand Abdurabou on the day of his arrival.

Investigating teams found messages on his phone about his attempt to reach the UK illegally, along with the collection of selfies taken as he piloted the boat, putting dozens of lives in danger.

One selfie shows the defendant, wearing a yellow hoodie and a baseball cap, smiling as he sits at the stern of the boat perilously close to the waterline.

The Illegal Migration Act will see the Home Office give immigration officers new powers to search for and seize electronic devices like mobile phones from people who come to the UK illegally. This includes to obtain evidence of criminal offences and establish whether someone has the right to be in the UK.

Chris Foster, Deputy Director of Criminal and Financial Investigations at the Home Office, said:

This defendant gloated as he risked dozens of lives by crossing the Channel illegally. Anyone willing to take the helm of these small boats can expect to be arrested and prosecuted.

I want to praise the quick work of my officers who have brought this criminal to justice. His sentence shows that our teams are working relentlessly to clamp down on this illegal trade.