A former Nottingham pilot and two other men plotted to fly four illegal immigrants from Albania into the UK. Richard Styles, of St Albans, Hertfordshire, was arrested in March 2022 at Deenethorpe Airfield near Corby, Northamptonshire.
The 53 year old had flown his twin-engine plane to the airfield from Belgium, and had been carrying with him three men and a woman attempting to evade immigration checks. Styles had worked with former pilot and aviation buff, SIlvano Turchet, of Nottingham, to rent the six-seater Piper Seneca for £1,500 from an airfield in Lincolnshire.
Styles then flew it to Deenethorpe, where Turchet had paid for it to be stored in a hangar before flying to Belgium on March 23. National Crime Agency [NCA] investigators believe the men were in contact with 'Tim K', an Albanian who arranged for the illegal passengers to meet Styles in Belgium.
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When the plane returned to the UK on March 24, an NCA surveillance team were waiting. As he was arrested, Styles joked: “I normally get arrested for drugs, so it’s a bit strange.”
Shortly after his arrest the Albanian group were detained by Northants Police officers, who were working with the NCA, in a Mercedes taxi driven by Vijayakumar Sivakumar. The migrants were then handed to the immigration authorities.
Sivakumar, 43, was previously convicted for trying to smuggle someone into the UK in the boot of his car, and was also arrested. Phone records showed he had been in contact with 'Tim K' leading up to the flight.
Styles had previously been arrested for using a plane to smuggle ecstasy tablets out of Belgium in 2003, and drop cannabis into Jersey the same year while he was on the run from the Belgian authorities. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2006, where he is believed to have met Turchet.
The pair were arrested in 2017 by the Dutch authorities in connection with another people smuggling enterprise. Styles would later be convicted in his absence, as he was already in custody in the UK by the time the case came to trial.
In July 2022, Turchet was arrested at his home in Nottingham after NCA investigators identified him as the organiser. Turchet initially denied knowledge of the plot, even though phone data put him near Deenethorpe airfield on March 24 and showed that he had called Styles nine times.
All three men were charged with facilitating a breach of immigration law, a charge Styles admitted at a hearing on 8 August 2022. Turchet pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial, and Sivakumar was found guilty by a jury after a five day trial at Leicester Crown Court in February 2023.
On Friday, April 28 a judge at the same court sentenced Styles to seven years in prison, Turchet to seven-and-a-half years, and Sivakumar to four-and-a-half years. NCA Regional Head of Investigations Jacque Beer said: "Styles was a career criminal who previously used his piloting skills to move consignments of drugs around Europe.
"On this occasion he was offering a luxury end to end service, bringing people into the UK using a private plane. His comments to my officers show that he considered getting arrested nothing more than an occupational hazard.
“Turchet used his aviation knowledge and criminal connections to organise the attempt. People smugglers use a range of methods to try and breach UK border controls, and we are determined to do all we can to stop them. Tackling organised immigration crime is a priority for the NCA.
“While this type of crime is rare, we would appeal to the aviation and local community to help us prevent it. Whether you work in the aviation industry, are a keen pilot, or live locally, you should report any unusual or suspicious activity at a UK airfield or airport immediately.”
Sarah Jennings, CPS Specialist prosecutor, said: "All three defendants were involved in a planned and co-ordinated attempt to bypass immigration controls. The CPS worked extremely closely with investigators to build this case including the National Crime Agency and international law enforcement in Belgium.
“The evidence we presented showed the three men working together in the run up to the offence including on the day they were caught, unaware that the NCA were waiting as the plane landed. We are determined to bring people smugglers to justice and will not hesitate to prosecute those who breach our immigration laws.”
The NCA investigation was supported by Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and Northamptonshire Police.
Full details of convictions:
- Richard Styles, born 13 December, 1969, previously of St Albans, now of no fixed abode. Pleaded guilty to facilitating illegal immigration, sentenced to seven years in prison.
- Silavano Turchet, born 26 October 1954, of North Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham. Pleaded guilty to conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration, sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.
- Vijayakumar SIVAKUMAR, born 6 August 1979, of Singleton Close, Tooting. Found guilty of facilitating illegal immigration, sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
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