Moment officer opens lorry with secret compartment to find dozen migrants hiding inside as ‘dad’s army’ gang jailed

THIS is the shocking moment a National Crime Agency officer opens up the back of a truck to find a dozen migrants including a 12-year-old child.

The truck, fitted with a specially constructed concealment behind a false bulkhead, was picked up at a cricket club in Southall, west London, on September 7, 2019.

Footage shows the officer asking if everyone is ok and if anyone can speak English as he tries to work out where they are from.

Four days later members of a ‘Dad’s Army‘ gang of people smugglers, including convicted cocaine smuggler Mark Youll, 68, collected £64,000 in cash for organising the run, the Old Bailey heard.

Youell, along with Terry Brewer, 51, and Rohit Chawla, 34, conspired with six other men including Chawla’s elderly father Surjeet to bring the migrants into the country.

They claimed they had no idea they were smuggling people and thought they were delivering furniture.

After a three month trial they were found guilty of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.

The NCA launched an undercover operation on July 5, 2019 after officers began to observe Freddy Lawrence, a man named as one of the conspirators.

Gang members were tailed by NCA agents in Operation Geochronic as they met in pub car parks to organise the human shipment.

For the next three months they were filmed at pubs and other locations in Ramsgate, Broadstairs, Hythe and Greenwich.

Secret bugs were able to catch the gang mentioning boats, “getting fuel” and how they “all have to put in equal amounts.”

They had considered bringing people in on a boat they controlled and sailed it across the channel, the court heard.

“Following a number of these meetings in July and August, on 1st September 2019 two men departed Dover Marina in a boat named “To Kill A Mockingbird,” the prosecutor said.

“They travelled towards the French coast and returned around five hours later. They did not in fact bring any migrants with them on this occasion and it may be that something thwarted their plan.

“Subsequently, the plan appears to have changed, and other willing participants were identified and brought into the plan.

“Thus, on 7th September 2019 police intercepted a lorry at a cricket club in Southall.

“In the rear of the lorry were 12 Afghan Sikh migrants. All of them had been brought here illegally.”

Prosecution said that just four days later two of the men collected £64,945 in cash which was “payment for the enterprise”.

Youell, of Clacton-on-Sea, Brewer, of Hatfield Peverel, Essex and Chawla of Hayes, west London, all denied but were convicted of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.

Kent-based career criminal Lawrence, 59, from Folkestone, was jailed for seven-and-a-half-years for people smuggling in January 2025.

In July 2020 Youell was caught by NCA officers trying to smuggle 32 kg of cocaine, 3kg of MDMA and 20.5kg of heroin into the country through a removals company owned by Rolls Royce-driving associate Brian Wright.

Bugs planted in a café in Kent caught Youell bragging to Wright: “We’re gonna hit the jackpot. We’re gonna make f***ing mega dough.”

But the gang were caught when Wright, then 73, dozed off in a lorry and was arrested.

NCA Regional Head of Investigations, Jacque Beer, said: This gang saw an opportunity to make money out of the desperation of others, using a vehicle that had been specially adapted to conceal people or commodities.

“They clearly did not care about the safety or security of the men, women and children they were transporting, just seeing them as an extra way to make more money.

“Tackling organised immigration crime remains a top priority for the NCA, and we are working with partners in the UK and abroad to target, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved, wherever they operate.”

Giorgina Venturella from the CPS said: “Thanks to the NCA’s investigation, the prosecution was able to present phone records showing how these men worked together and track their journey to and from France.

“Those involved in organised immigration crime cannot evade detection by using burner phones or changing numbers. The evidence in this case shows how law enforcement can piece together their activities.

“The CPS will continue to work with partners at home and overseas to bring those involved in organised immigration crime to justice.”