Immigration officers deny stealing cash and property from migrants
Six people have been charged in total including men from Surrey and Berkshire
Immigration officers from Surrey and Berkshire are among six Home Office staff accused of stealing cash and valuables worth “hundreds of thousands of pounds” from small boats migrants as they arrived in the UK, a court has heard.
The officers were working in clandestine immigration enforcement teams in the south-east when the alleged offences took place between 2021 and 2022. They are all charged with money laundering, while five also face counts of misconduct in public office and conspiracy to steal.
Among them is 36 year old Besmir Matera from Reigate who is accused of conspiring to steal, misconduct in public office and converting criminal property. He is further charged with obtaining leave to enter or remain in the UK by deception between 2003 and 2004, by allegedly lying on his asylum application about his name, date of birth, place of birth and nationality. Matera also faces two counts of possessing an identity document with improper intention, relating to a passport and driving licence.
His co-defendant 42 year old Lee-Ann Evanson from Bracknell, is also charged with conspiracy to steal, misconduct in public office and converting criminal property.
The remaining defendants are John Bernthal, 53, of Welling, south-east London; Ben Edwardes, 45, of Bexleyheath, south-east London; Jack Mitchell, 33, of Dover, Kent; and David Grundy, 43, of Croydon, south London. Bernthal, Edwardes and Mitchell face the same three charges as Matera and Evanson, while Grundy is accused of converting criminal property.
All six appeared at Southwark Crown Court, where they pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Prosecutor Lyndon Harris told the court the officers were responsible for “managing the arrival of migrants on small boats, the initial processing of those individuals, searching, and placing property into bags”, and that the alleged thefts involved sums “in the hundreds of thousands”.
Judge Nicholas Rimmer set a provisional trial date of 17 January 2028, expected to last six to eight weeks, telling the defendants this was the earliest the court could accommodate. All were granted bail.