Vietnam verifying information on migrants in UK town

By VNA February 22, 2024 | 11:12 pm PT

Tourists walk at the Newhaven Port in Sussex District where border security forces arrested 21 Vietnamese illegally entering into the U.K. in 2018. Photo by Reuters/Kham

The Vietnamese Embassy in the U.K. is working closely with authorities in the U.K. to fact-check the case that seven allegedly Vietnamese migrants were detected at Newhaven Port in Lewes District of East Sussex County.

Right after getting the information by several newspapers, including BBC News, Guardian, Daily Mail and Mirror, the embassy contacted the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Home Office, Metropolitan Police, and Mayor of Newhaven city, among others, asking them to provide further information.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs directed the embassy to take necessary citizen protection measures to ensure that the immigrants are treated humanely and in line with laws.

According to the U.K. press, seven migrants, believed to be Vietnamese, were found in the back of a truck at Newhaven Port on Feb. 16.

Ferry operator DFDS, which runs services between Newhaven and Dieppe in Normandy, northern France, confirmed that the migrants were found on board the Seven Sisters vessel, adding immediate medical attention was provided.

Anas Al Mustafa, 42, from Wales’s Swansea city and accused of assisting the unlawful entry to the U.K., appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Feb. 19. He was taken into custody and will appear at Lewes Crown Court on March 18.