A mother and son were caught illegally smuggling Vietnamese nationals into the country inside the trunk of their car. James Liddiard and Andrea Cavanagh were among six Merseyside-based traffickers caught trying to transport stowaways into the UK from France within the space of a week.
The pair carried out their plan while pretending they were on a day trip to Paris, the Liverpool ECHO reports. Canterbury Crown Court heard on Tuesday that the smugglers 'worked in pairs' with the first journey being traced back to December, 9, 2018 where two hidden Vietnamese passengers were discovered in the boot of a car being driven by Charli White, with then 17-year-old companion Erin Burns 'acting as a decoy' beside her in the front seat.
A few days later on December 13, Liddiard was stopped while driving with his mum Cavanagh and was caught transporting another two illegal migrants while Louisa Harrison and David Finn were also discovered with three stowaways in their trunk that same day. The Home Office confirmed that UK Border Control had stopped four vehicles at Coquelles, near Calais, between December 8 and 13 2018.
