46 Foreign Criminals Flown Back to Vietnam and Timor-Leste in Historic UK Charter Flight
In a major crackdown, 46 foreign criminals and immigration offenders have been sent back to Vietnam and Timor-Leste on the UK’s first-ever charter repatriation flight to Timor-Leste—and the first to Vietnam since 2022.
Government Steps Up Deportations Amid Rising Small Boat Crossings
The flight took off on Wednesday (24 July) and landed in Timor-Leste the next morning (25 July), marking a bold move by the government to ramp up returns of those with no legal right to be in the UK. It follows Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s announcement to scrap previous Rwanda deportation plans in favour of sending foreign offenders home to their countries.
Vietnam is among the top nationalities caught crossing the Channel illegally in small boats, adding fuel to the government’s tough stance on irregular migration.
People-Smugglers Jailed after Catching 2 Vietnamese Migrants Hidden in Campervan
The charter flight’s launch coincided with a court victory: a gang of British people-smugglers, including siblings Natalie and Alan Sirrell, were sentenced after being caught hiding two Vietnamese migrants under a campervan bed during a Border Force search in France.
- Alan Sirrell got three and a half years in prison
- Casey Dennis Loughnane received four and a half years
- Natalie Sirrell and Charlotte Smyth were handed suspended sentences
- Benjamin Tokeley pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing
Stuart Wilkinson, Head of Home Office Criminal and Financial Investigation (North East Command), applauded the teamwork that busted the smuggling ring.
“Today’s sentencing is the result of strong collaboration between agencies to bring another people-smuggling ring to justice,” Wilkinson said. “Our teams will keep fighting to secure borders and stop gangs exploiting vulnerable people for profit.”
Home Secretary Hails “Quick and Decisive Action” in Border Security
Yvette Cooper praised the co-operation of Vietnam and Timor-Leste governments, saying:
“Today’s flight shows the government is taking quick and decisive action to secure our borders and return those with no right to be here.
We thank the governments of Vietnam and Timor-Leste for their co-operation, without which this could never have happened. Our strong diplomatic bonds are crucial to restoring order to the asylum and immigration system.”
Images from the recent court case reveal just how dangerous smuggling operations can be—migrants hidden in cramped compartments less than a foot high as they are smuggled between the UK and France.
The government’s latest move is a clear message to people-smugglers and illegal migrants: the UK is taking back control of its borders, and those caught out will be sent packing—fast.
