Two Ukrainian men have been jailed for smuggling four Albanian men and a teenage girl from Vietnam aboard a private yacht in July this year.

They were prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service and on 14 November also pleaded guilty to smuggling migrants on two previous occasions – in June 2025 and August 2024.

Vladyslav Cherniavskyi, 38, and Oleksandr Yavtushenko, 43, were caught aboard their yacht “Uforia” by Border Force officers 4.5 miles off the coast of Chichester on 20 July.

At Portsmouth Crown Court today (12 December) Cherniavskyi was jailed for six years, and Yavtushenko for five years.

They would pick up migrants from the French coast before sailing across the English Channel.

CCTV footage from June 2025 showed Yavtushenko helping a young child, a woman, and a man board the yacht in France. Footage from Itchenor in Chichester from August 2024 showed six people with backpacks leaving the yacht and heading towards the village.

The men’s swift prosecution in the UK was made possible by support from French police and prosecutors who were able to share crucial evidence.

Tim Burton, Specialist Prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Cherniavskyi and Yavtushenko were effectively running an illegal migrant taxi service across the English Channel.

“Thanks to the National Crime Agency they were caught red handed and evidence shared by French authorities meant we were able to build an unanswerable case.

“Both knew very well they were bringing in people that had no right to enter the UK but did so anyway to make money.”

National Crime Agency Senior Investigating Officer Julian Harriman said: “These men ran what can only be described as a kind of ferry service, moving small numbers of people over the channel each time, but charging them a premium price for the service.

“They stood to make tens of thousands of pounds for each trip, but we were able to work with our French partners to stop this enterprise in its tracks

“Targeting people smugglers like this remains a priority for the NCA, and we’re doing all we can to disrupt and dismantle the gangs involved, wherever they operate.”