FOUR men arrested after police found nearly 30 Vietnamese people in a van they intercepted on the M5 appeared before magistrates today (mon) on modern slavery offences.
Two men from Lancashire and two from Kent were at Truro Magistrates’ Court on charges of trafficking 29 Vietnamese people and arranging the transport of a woman with a view to her being exploited.
Before the bench were Frank Walling, 72, from Colne, Lancashire, Jon Ransom, 63, from Kent, Keith Royston Plummer, 62, from Sheerness, and Glen Martin Bennett, 55, from Burnley.
The court was told the four were accused of skippering a yacht carrying 29 Vietnamese nationals to the Cornish port of Newlyn in breach of the Immigration Act.
The four were further charged with arranging the transport of a woman so she could be exploited.
Two of the suspects were detained in Newlyn on Friday while the other pair were stopped later in a car on the motorway at Cullompton.
Three of the men denied the charges while the fourth did not enter any pleas at today’s court hearing.
One of the men, Frank Walling, appeared on crutches. He did not enter any pleas.
The remaining trio entered not guilty pleas in relation to the two allegations.
Prosecutor Alison May said, given the serious nature of the allegations, they were unsuitable to be heard before magistrates.
No applications were made for bail and none of the men made any representations through their respective solicitors.
All four were remanded in custody to appear at Truro Crown Court on May 7.
After Friday’s dramatic arrests, the suspected illegal immigrants were taken to Chudleigh Town Hall for ‘processing.’
They have since been moved elsewhere after their weekend stay.
A spokesman for Devon Children and Families Partnership said: ‘The UK government will decide what the next steps will be for these individuals. In the meantime, Devon and Cornwall agencies are supporting the group, and arrangements for temporary accommodation will be made if any of the individuals are under 18 years of age, pending further decision about their status.’
A British Red Cross spokesperson said volunteers were supporting a number of people who were alleged victims of human trafficking.
‘We are providing them with practical and emotional support at a rest centre while the police conduct their investigations,’ they said.