Teen migrant, 17, tried to sneak into Britain sealed inside a child’s coffin
A TEEN migrant tried to sneak into Britain sealed inside a child’s coffin.
The 17-year-old lad was found curled up inside the small wooden casket, which had its lid screwed down.
The find came during a routine search of a van by French border officers close to Dunkirk.
The coffin was 3ft 5in long, under 2ft wide and 2ft 5in high.
The Albanian minor, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said that he had paid £9,000 for a passage to Britain in the van.
He told a court: “I got into the coffin at a motorway service station at Steenvoorde (northern France) and then it was screwed down.
“I must have been inside for at least an hour by the time the van was stopped.”
The coffin was hidden among wooden boxes in the back of a Mercedes Sprinter van.
The lad was freed after processing by French authorities.
The driver, Romanian Lucian-Radu Rizae, claimed he had no idea the stowaway was on board.
Rizae admitted receiving £4,000 to transport the coffin during a fast-track trial in Dunkirk and was given a six-month jail term.