A criminal gang has been jailed after smuggling Sri Lankans into the UK through ports including Dover - charging them thousands each time.

The men, four Sri Lankans and one British national, helped illegal immigrants attempting to reach the UK by smuggling them in vehicles and charging them £4,500 each.

Border Force officers foiled many of the attempts, as stowaways were spotted hiding in vehicles stopped at Dover, Calais, Dunkirk and Coquelles.

The ringleader, 37-year-old Sudharsan Jeyakodi, of Bradley Road, Luton, pleaded guilty in August last year to conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration and was jailed for five years and four months at Maidstone Crown Court.

Chubramanian Vignarajah, 42, of Aurelia Road, Croydon, also pleaded guilty last year to the same offence and was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment.

Kamalanesan Kandiah, 39, of Balmoral Drive, Hayes, London, John Anes Soundaranayagam Uvais, 41, of Mitcham Road, East Ham, London, and British national Amarjit Mudhar, 46, of Brick Lane, Northolt, London, were found guilty of the same charge on January 17 following an eight-week trial.

Kandiah and Uvais were jailed for five years each while Mudhar was sentenced to four years and eight months.

The gang was caught following a Home Office-led investigation, supported by Kent Police, the National Crime Agency (NCA), Europol and French, German and Swiss law enforcement agencies.