Children, some as young as 12 years of age, were among the 21 people who were found inside a refrigerated lorry entering the UK, BBC reported.
The group was hiding within the sparkling water that the lorry was carrying at the port of Newhaven in Sussex. The 15 children and six adults were found inside the lorry, when it was stopped on arrival from Dieppe in France. When asked, they had said that they were from Vietnam.
The driver, of Romanian nationality, has been charged by the police for assisting unlawful entry into the United Kingdom, the report added. Identified as Andrut Duma, 29, he was made to appear before the magistrates on Saturday, 2 November, on charges of immigration offences and was remanded to police custody till 26 November, when a hearing at Lewes Crown Court will take place.
Out of the six adults, an 18-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman, found in the lorry, were deported from the UK. The remaining four were placed in immigration detention centres, while their cases were being looked into.
However, the children did not require medical treatment and were transferred to the care of social services, the report added.
(With inputs from BBC)
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