A MAN who organised a plot to smuggle illegal immigrants into the UK was caught after an undercover police officer was unwittingly recruited to take part.

Sentencing Mark Minister to five years in jail Judge Elizabeth Nicholls told him he had not given a thought to the suffering and fear of those who would have been carried into the country in the back of a lorry.

“This offending is not only illegal, it is an affront to humanity,” she said.

The officer, identified only as Charlie, posed as an HGV driver willing to traffic immigrants into the country in his lorry.

Minister acted as a go-between, passing messages between his fellow conspirators, Scott Downie and Anthony Corkovic, Charlie and another man, who acted as link with a ‘Chinese handler’ on the Continent.

Manchester Crown Court heard how the National Crime Agency became suspicious of Downie in early 2017 and a listening device was installed in his car.

Discussions took place where officers learned the conspirators were planning to set up a long-running scheme to smuggle people into the country. They were expecting to pocket £4,000 for each person brought into the UK.

Alex Leach, prosecuting, said the European handler wanted the truck to go to Lille in France to collect the immigrants, but Charlie insisted that it should be at Oostcamp, Belgium, as that was on the route he was supposedly taking.

After several phone calls and meetings Charlie set off to Belgium on May 31 2017 to collect an estimated 10 people, but the transfer did not take place as, while en route, the handler called it off.

He had claimed a reluctance to travel to Belgium due to previous offences he had committed there.

In August 2017 Minister, aged 47, of Hodge Road, Walkden, was arrested for his part in the conspiracy and subsequently pleaded guilty to assisting in unlawful immigration.

“Had this conspiracy succeeded he would have made a substantial profit,” said Mr Leach.

After the failed smuggling attempt Corkovic, aged 29, of Murray Street, Salford and Downie, aged 31, of Seedley Road, Salford, were involved in a second conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.

They pleaded guilty and were each sentenced to seven years in prison at a hearing in October 2017.

Katherine Pierpoint, defending Minister, stressed that he had only been involved in the first, failed conspiracy and had not participated in the second.

“He was not interested in being involved in anything else,” she said.

“He regrets what he became involved in. He clearly wasn’t as involved as the others.”

Miss Pierpoint added that Minister, a father-of-seven, is single, and four years began drinking heavily and suffering mental health problems and anxiety following the break-up of a relationship.

But Judge Nicholls, describing his crime as “despicable” said had he had not been concerned about the anxiety or fate of the people who were to be transported.

“This was totally and brutally commercial. You stood to make substantial financial gain,” she said.

“It is plain to see that you didn’t know or care whether those being transported would be exploited.”