Border officials find 15 stowaways in lorries

The stowaways were found by UK Border Agency officers in Northern France using sniffer dogs and visual checks as they inspected vehicles preparing to cross the English Channel to Dover.

Last week officers working in Calais noticed the lock on a Polish-registered lorry had been tampered with. A subsequent search revealed eight Vietnamese and one Iranian national hiding among a load of toothpaste heading for Castleford, West Yorkshire.

Also in Calais, officials were alerted to six Afghans by a specially trained detection dog which discovered them hiding among party supplies. The Bulgarian-registered lorry, driven by a man from Greece, was travelling to Doncaster.

In both cases, the stowaways were taken off the vehicle, fingerprinted, photographed, refused entry to the UK and then handed over to the French frontier police.

The lorries were allowed to continue their journeys to the UK – although the drivers and hauliers may now be liable for a fine of up to 2,000 per illegal worker if it is found that they did not take adequate steps to secure the vehicle.

The UK Border Agency's director for European operations, Carole Upshall, said: "Finds such as this one highlight the determination and expertise required by UK Border Agency officers to stay one step ahead of illegal immigration."