A Sudanese man has been sentenced to 27 months in prison after being found guilty of piloting a small, overcrowded boat carrying 50 other migrants across the English Channel from France to the United Kingdom. The sentence was handed down by Carlisle Crown Court, following a trial in which the man, identified as Nader Osman Adam, was convicted of assisting unlawful immigration.
According to prosecutors, the 30-year-old Sudanese national was seen operating the throttle and steering the vessel when it was intercepted by UK Border Force officers on November 16, 2024. The inflatable boat, packed with 51 adults, was described as dangerously overloaded, with many migrants’ legs hanging over the side as they attempted the risky crossing toward Dover.
Video surveillance captured Osman at the back of the vessel wearing a beige hoodie before later revealing a black Batman T-shirt. He also pulled a snood over his face and put on an orange life jacket as the boat approached British waters. An immigration investigator told the court that Osman appeared to crouch down, seemingly to avoid detection from aerial cameras.
After Border Force officers intercepted the boat, the migrants were transferred to safety, and Osman was identified among them. His phone was later seized and analyzed, revealing images and videos from the same boat journey. Investigators also found messages sent two days after the crossing in which Osman admitted switching off the engine when he saw the authorities approaching.
Osman told the court he fled war-torn Sudan after his father, who served in the army, was killed. He described a dangerous journey across the Sahara Desert, through Chad and Libya, before sailing to Italy and traveling on to France, where he paid smugglers 450 euros to make the Channel crossing. “I am looking for safe haven. I want to find a home to stay in,” he said during his testimony.
While Osman admitted entering the UK without valid documents, he denied piloting the boat or assisting others to enter unlawfully. However, the jury convicted him by a majority verdict of 10-2. His defense lawyer, Andrew Evans, told the court that Osman was not part of a smuggling network and was himself a desperate migrant seeking safety.
“This was not a criminal mastermind,” the defense said. “He was a migrant with something to gain from driving the boat — a one-way trip to safety.”
Delivering the sentence, Recorder Anna Vigars KC said that Osman knowingly took control of the boat carrying dozens of people attempting to enter the UK illegally. She noted that following his prison term, the Home Office would likely take steps to remove him from the country.
“This case highlights the serious dangers of crossing the Channel in overcrowded boats,” the judge stated. “It also shows the risks migrants take in the hope of finding refuge, and the firm stance of UK authorities against those who assist in illegal entry.”