Charles Lynch: Man who escaped prison 28 years ago jailed for people smuggling

An escaped convict who was on the run for almost three decades is back behind bars for smuggling migrants across the English Channel in his motor cruiser.

Charles Lynch was jailed for three years and eight months at Portsmouth Crown Court.

Two Border Force vessels and a coastguard helicopter were involved in a high speed sea chase on 6 November last year, eventually stopping the boat just a few miles from the English coast.

Inside, Border Force officers found eight Albanian migrants, five men, two women and a child, as well as Lynch, who pleaded guilty to assisting unlawful immigration.

Initially, Lynch told officers he was a German national called Wolfram Steidl, but further checks showed he was a convicted prisoner, who escaped from Maidstone jail in Kent in 1992 and had been on the run ever since.

Authorities were alerted to Lynch’s vessel, the 46ft motor cruiser Saquerlotte III, because of the high speed it was doing, as it tried to cross the Channel under the cover of darkness.

Andy Vidamour, senior officer with Border Force Maritime Command, said his team were on a routine mission onboard the coastal patrol vessel Nimrod.

A larger Border Force cutter, the Seeker, was in the same patrol area, when they noticed the motor cruiser travelling at more than 25 knots.

“It became apparent early on that the vessel didn’t want to stop,” he said.

“We initially wanted to identify the vessel, ask some questions, before we made any further decisions on whether it would be boarded or not.”

The Border Force officer said they tried repeatedly to contact the vessel’s skipper by radio, but they got no reply.

“Once it became apparent the vessel wasn’t intending to stop, we entered into a high speed pursuit, which ultimately resulted in us pulling in front of the vessel at about 36 knots.

“When we did manage to persuade this vessel to stop in the water, we used the RIB [rigid-inflatable boat] from HMC Seeker to place 5 officers on board.

“When we entered the cabin we found nine people in there – eight Albanian nationals plus the skipper, who initially identified himself as Wolfram Steidl.”

The National Crime Agency was called in to take over the subsequent investigation, uncovering Lynch’s true identity and lengthy criminal past.

He was a year into a seven-year sentence for theft, fraud and forgery when he absconded from Maidstone prison.

His UK criminal record showed dozens of previous convictions, largely for fraud and theft offences, dating back to 1971, as well as at least 40 known aliases.

NCA investigators believe Lynch, who spoke multiple languages, had used some of those aliases to evade the authorities during his time on the run.

He was found in possession of a selection of false identity documents, including a Danish driving license and Romanian ID card.

He had also been convicted and jailed for a number of offences in France, including possessing indecent images of children, under another identity.

The arrest and conviction of Charles Lynch is just one small victory in an ongoing battle by the authorities to prevent a rapidly growing trade in people smuggling across the Channel.

In 2019, almost 1,900 migrants were intercepted as they tried to cross to the UK by water, most in flimsy rubber dinghies.

This year already, around 300 have attempted to make the perilous crossing through one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

The National Crime Agency is working with colleagues on the continent to try to disrupt organised criminal gangs, who are trafficking the migrants for up £10,000 per person.

Lynch’s conviction is proof that other traffickers, ones who are less organised than the criminal gangs, are operating: opportunists who are using their own small vessels to make money from the desperation of those determined to reach the UK.

Shane Williams, the National Crime Agency’s regional head of investigations for the London area, said his staff were working flat out to help bring an end to a very dangerous trade in human traffic.

“As an agency it is one of our top priorities, in order to try and safeguard individuals who have been trafficked across from Europe to the UK.” He said.

“We know all too recently there have been some very tragic and sad events where people have lost their lives.

“There is a clear message here: If people are intent on trafficking people across from Europe to the UK, they run a high risk of being caught and being sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

“We have got a degree of sympathy for people who are trafficked because of the circumstances they are leaving in their home countries, but I would say it’s a significant risk for them to try to cross the Channel and I would warn them not to do it.”

Authorities believe it is possible that Lynch may have smuggled other migrants into the UK in the weeks before he was caught.

Analysis of the Saquerlotte III’s movements prior to Lynch’s arrest showed he made a number of trips between France and the UK, with the vessel having travelled between numerous marinas along the south coast, including Brighton, Littlehampton, Portland, Dover and Weymouth.

It was Lynch’s decision to race across the Channel at high speed that triggered the suspicions of the UK’s maritime authorities, bringing an end to his people smuggling activities and ensuring he is now back in the prison system he escaped 28 years ago.

(c) Sky News 2020: Charles Lynch: Man who escaped prison 28 years ago jailed for people smuggling