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EAST ANGLIA NEWS SERVICE
The Cessna aircraft used by Lithuanian pilot Algirdas Barteska, 60, who was caught people smuggling when he flew three Albanian illegal immigrants to remote Seething airfield, Norfolk
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A judge warned that small airfields in the UK were “defenceless” against people smugglers as he jailed a pilot for trying to smuggle in three illegal immigrants yesterday/today (mon).
Algirdas Barteska, 60, was caught after Border Force officials acting on a tip off were lying in wait for him as he landed his Albanian passengers at a remote airfield.
Officers watched as he helped the man and a mother and her five-year-old daughter climb out of his Cessna light aircraft with their bags and a suitcase at the private member’s flying club in Seething, Norfolk.
Two of the Border Force staff then sprinted after his plane as it taxied along at around 6mph to take off again and banged on the cockpit window to force him to stop.
Barteska was arrested and was found to be carrying 5,000 euros in 500 euro notes which were said to be his fee for bringing in the man and the woman and her daughter on June 24 last year.
He told Norwich Crown Court that he was hired to fly three three Albanians from Germany to the UK and back again in his employer’s Cessna back because they were interested in buying the light aircraft.
Barteska of Paluknys, Lithuania said he was forced to land at Seething because the mother and daughter were desperate to use the toilet as they had become ill due to the turbulence and he only had one sick bag on board.
But a jury of eight men and four women took just over two hours to see through his lies and find him guilty of people smuggling which has a maximum penalty of seven years
Grey-haired Barteska, a former airline pilot and flying instructor in Eastern Europe, had denied three counts of assisting unlawful immigration and was jailed for a concurrent six years on each charge. He will be deported at the end of his sentence
Judge Stephen Holt told the pilot that remote airfields in the UK were wide open to people smugglers as there was not enough Border Force staff to monitor each one around the clock.
The judge said: “This case does fall into the more serious category and there has to be a deterrent. Small airfields, particularly in Norfolk are just defenceless. There just isn’t the manpower and there has to be a deterrent aspect.”
Judge Holt added: “In my judgement there are dozens of small airfields in East Anglia which are extremely vulnerable to this sort of people smuggling.
“There are people on duty at the major ports, but hat is the problem. There cannot be people on duty at every single small airfield and that makes them vulnerable.”
The judge also ordered the seizure of the 5,000 euros which Barteska was paid and the seizure of the single-engined Cessna which was said to be worth around £20,000.
The court heard that Barteska had been contracted to fly the immigrants by Finnish businessman Kristia Tieder who owned the Cessna through a United Sates-registered trust company.
Judge Holt described Tieder as the “principle figure in the people smuggling operation” and demanded to know if the British authorities were trying to bring him to justice.
Prosecutor John Farmer said the whereabouts of Tieder were unknown and steps were “being made to find out where he is”.
The five day trial was told that Barteska appeared to have made two trial run flights in the grey Cessna to test out different rural airfields before his smuggling attempt.
Records show that he flew into Seething airfield on May 8 with a passenger names as Tieder who ran a business in Helsinki, offering people assistance with immigration according to its website, the court hard.
Judge Holt said that the pair left the following day and there was no evidence that they had landed illegal immigrants on that occasion.
The court heard that Barteska then flew the grey coloured Cessna to Old Buckenham airfield in Norfolk, on May 10, before flying back to mainland Europe.
A member of the public at Old Buckenham became suspicious and tipped off Border Force staff about the Cessna.
The records of the plane were logged and the alarm was raised when its transponder showed that it had flown back into UK airspace after taking off from Dinslaken in Germany on the evening of June 24.
Border Force staff were scrambled to Seething and Old Buckenham in case Barteska flew into either airfield as he flew over the UK coast.
Barteska’s transponder was then turned off just a few minutes from Seething in an apparent attempt to stop the Cessna being tracked by radar as it landed.
The officers saw him touching down at Seething at around 8.30pm and helping his passengers out in an area away from the main buildings.
Border Force staff ordered the three Albanians to stay where they were and two officers David Fryer and Mark Chattenton chased after the plane and banged on the window as it taxied along at 5mph to 6mph to take off again
Judge Holt commended the pair for their bravery, saying that they could have faced serious injury if Barteska had continued his take off.
Officers heard a vehicle speed away, suggesting that a driver who had been due to pick up the Albanians had decided to flee after seeing what had happened.
It later emerged that a flight plan had been filed, stating that Barteska was flying alone to Nottingham airfield and had made no mention of his passengers.
The court heard that the Albanian man had been deported within a week and that the woman and her daughter were still in the UK and having an application for asylum considered.
Stephen Spence, defending, said Barteska who had a young child was of “impeccable character” with no previous convictions and was motivated by seeking to provide for his family.
Mr Spence added that he had been active teaching flying in Moldova and had helped establish a professional pilots association in eastern Europe
Giving evidence at the trial, a Border Force officer described how he “could see some occupants get out of the plane and some bags unloaded”.
The officer then took a closer look and saw “a male, a female and a child walking towards us carrying a suitcase”.
He added: “I reached the aircraft and tried to get the pilot’s attention by knocking against the side of the plane and asking him to stop.”
Barteska said he decided to land at Seething after his woman passenger began to “scream” and the man asked if he could find a toilet for her and her child.
He said that Seething was on his route so he landed there and the three people had got out of the plane.
He said that he was about to turn the plane around and planned to carry on the flight to Nottingham when he was stopped by the officers.
“I had no idea and had no intention of doing anything illegal,” he said.
He said he was unaware that his passengers were not allowed to land in the UK.
Barteska said: “I am a normal pilot, who flies a plane safely. I am not a policeman I had no suspicions. What can I do?”
Charlotte Mann, the Assistant Director of Border Force’s East Anglia Command, said: “Border Force carries out detailed risk assessments and our officers physically meet any suspicious flights.
“We had been monitoring suspicious movements and it is testament to our intelligence gathering work with domestic and international partners that we were in place to make the arrest.”
Adam Hutton, a chief immigration officer in Immigration Enforcement’s Criminal and Financial Investigations Team, said:“Barteska has 43 years flying experience.
“It stretches credulity to believe that someone with such a background could genuinely believe he was entitled to bring three people into the UK without establishing whether they had the right to enter the country.
“The reality is that he agreed to deliberately try to circumvent the UK’s immigration controls in exchange for money.
“Barteska’s offences struck at the very heart of immigration control and his conviction today sends a clear message that this kind of criminality will be severely dealt with.”
ends