Last week, nine asylum were found in the back of a lorry at a truck stop on the A1 in between Rutland, Grantham and Stamford.

Following this, a 39-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of helping asylum seekers enter the UK was released on bail.

On 24 November, Lincolnshire Police confirmed that they were investigating a suspected clandestine entry to the UK of nine people who were found in the back of an HGV.

They were discovered following a report that there was banging coming from the rear trailer of an HGV parked at the A1 truck stop at Bourne Road, Colsterworth, just after 7pm on Thursday 23 November.

Officers attended and found four Vietnamese nationals, four Iranian nationals which also included one boy, and one Iraqi national in the back of the lorry, with conditions reported to have been very hot. They were taken to Lincoln police station. Officers from the Home Office Immigration Enforcement will handle enquiries and investigations into the seven men and one woman, while the boy was taken into the protection of the local authority. 

It is believed that they had travelled more than 18 hours from Italy.

The driver of the vehicle, a 39-year-old man, was subsequently arrested on suspicion of helping asylum seekers enter the UK, and was released on bail on 27 November.

If you have information which might help, please contact DS Daniel Gstrein at Grantham CID on [email protected], quoting incident 372 of 23 November.