People smuggling

People smuggler jailed after Border Force chased his plane down a runway at a private members' airfield in Norfolk

A pilot attempted to drop off a family of illegal Albanian migrants but was thwarted on the runway, a court heard as a judge warned British airfields are “defenceless” against people smugglers.

Algirdas Barteska, a former flying instructor from Lithuania, was arrested on June 24 last year after Border Force personnel were forced to chase him down a runway as he tried a daring ‘drop and run’ mission involving three Albanian migrants at a private member’s flying club in Seething, Norfolk.

As Border Force staff attempted to prevent the 60-year-old trafficker from escaping, Barteska continued with his takeoff procedure undeterred, forcing his pursuers to bang on the cockpit window in order to bring the Cessna light aircraft to a halt.