0h 9min, apr 21, 2026 y - First to be Convicted under New Law

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An Afghan migrant has become the first person to be convicted of endangering others during a sea crossing to the UK.

Tajik Mohammad, 32, had been piloting an overcrowded dinghy across the English Channel in poor weather conditions on 17 January.

Some of the passengers were also not wearing life jackets.

Appearing at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to breaking the new law, which came into force in January, and will be sentenced on 10 June.

Mohammad abandoned the dinghy and its passengers when a rescue ship arrived, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

He reached the UK later the same day, where he was arrested.

Under the recent Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, the charge of endangering others during a sea crossing is to stop more people being crammed into unsafe boats.

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