Eritrean man is jailed for 18 months for piloting a small boat carrying 26 people, including six children, across the Channel

From the Newshound archive · first published 2 October 2026 · last updated 4 October 2026.

Jemal Abdela, 32, was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court after admitting he had put 26 migrants at risk — six of them children — on an illegal Channel crossing on July 25. The boat carried no flares, GPS or maps, and its radar signature was so weak it represented a serious collision hazard on one of the world's most heavily trafficked shipping lanes. Abdela said other passengers compelled him to steer after he had paid 800 euros for his own place on the crossing.

Abdela is the 20th small boat pilot jailed in just four months for putting lives at risk in the Channel.

Prosecutors told the court that immigration officers observed Abdela 'dive into the centre of the boat' and shift position in an attempt to avoid being identified as officers moved in.

The vessel had been under surveillance from a French rib and was on course for the Kent coastline when officers boarded; Abdela's defence informed the court that two young children of his are still in Eritrea.