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Ocean Freight wins appeal against f9k stowaway fine
Page 18
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The Home Office backs down on a £9,000 stowaway fine after technical discrepancies. David Harris reports.
THE HOME OFFICE has cancelled a £9,000 fine imposed on Teesside haulier Ocean Freight for bringing in illegal immigrants.
While the company's case for appeal was said to be "strong". the fine was dropped on a technical issue.
Driver Jim Ritchie says he was devastated to see the six Iraqi stowaways in his vehicle when it was checked by immigration officials at Dover last June, particularly as the six included two children about the same age as his own.
He had been carrying tyres from Germany and the stowaways managed to reach Dover despite a CO, scan at Dunkirk. It is believed they got into the truck when it stopped for fuel in Belgium and that the scan may have been affected by fumes from the tyres.
The fine totalled £3,000 for Jim Ritchie and a further £6,000 for his brother,David,who owns the firm.
The company's solicitor, Tony Eastwood, of Redcar-based Goodswens, says that while the firm's legal appeal was strong, the Home Office dropped the fine without an admission of liability because of a technicality. The Home Office is also under stood to be paying Ocean Freight's legal fees, Eastwood explains:"The inspector who looked at the case said the fines should he upheld, but got the fines to the driver and operator the wrong way round throughout his report" This mistake led Eastwood to question how the Home Office could say with confidence that the report was correct. "As a result the Home Office decided not to challenge the appeal.
This is not the first time that David Ritchie has a major case thrown out in 1994 he served 11 months on remand accused of smuggling cannabis.
He was refused bail live times but when his case eventually came to court it lasted less than a day and the jury took less than an hour to acquit him.