Anthony Corkovic, 28, has been jailed after an undercover National Crime Agency investigation into people smuggling (Picture: MEN)

Human traffickers who plotted to smuggle illegal immigrants into the UK were caught after they hired an undercover police officer as their driver.

The officer, named Charlie to protect his identity, spent almost five months posing as a HGV driver to build a case against Scott Downie and Anthony Corkovic, who have now both been jailed after trying to smuggle people into the country on two occasions.

The pair, from Salford, were arrested in the UK alongside their co-defendant Jetlind Gjyriqi, from London, who has also been jailed, shortly after Charlie tipped off police of the location of a drop-off point in Belgium.

Downie and Corkovic planned a test run to bring seven people from Lille, in France, to the UK but this was cancelled at the last minute, and Gjyriqi became involved in a second plot to traffic Albanian nationals into the UK from Belgium.

Downie came to the attention of the National Crime Agency after a car linked to him was flagged up as part of a probe into unlawful immigration.

Investigators discovered that Downie and Corkovic were discussing the possibility of bringing illegal immigrants into the UK on HGVs, and that they needed a driver.

About a month later, the NCA sent Charlie undercover to pose as a HGV driver ready to be recruited for such operations.

Scott Downie was jailed for his part in a plot to smuggle people into the UK (Picture: National Crime Agency)

Prosecuting, Alex Leach said on March 27 Charlie met with Downie and Corkovic at the Trucker’s Rest Cafe on the A5 in Cannock, Staffordshire.

During their meeting Downie offered to pay Charlie £2,000 per person smuggled into the UK, and said he could guarantee between 15 to 20 people a trip.

He said they had a contact in France, who they called ‘The Chink’. Charlie was told that after he arrived in his HGV at the location, his passengers would be loaded into the back of the van without him having to leave the driver’s seat.

They agreed to transport seven people as a ‘test run’, for which Charlie would be paid £3,000 a head because of the reduced number of travellers.

In further discussions Downie told Charlie that there were between 75 to 100 people waiting to be smuggled into the UK.

Charlie met Downie and Corkovic again on March 30 at Trafford Park, where they asked him to select a pick up location close to Lille.

The operation was due to take place on May 31, and Charlie arrived at the agreed location in Belgium.

The plan fell through, but Charlie stayed in contact with Downie and Corkovic and just a few weeks later they mentioned a plot to smuggle five to six people in the UK every week.

They agreed Charlie would be paid £2,750 per person smuggled as driver, and that the pick up point would be in Belgium.

Manchester Crown Court (Picture: Geograph)

Charlie spoke to Gjyriqi on the phone and later met in person with Corkovic near Victoria bus station in London, on July 28.

During the meeting they agreed that Charlie would transport groups of about seven people, including families and children, from Oostkamp in Belgium to Hull, but later agreed to increase this to 11 people per trip.

The pick up was organised for August 2, and Belgian police were tipped off about the location, where officers observed two cars containing a number of men and Charlie’s HGV arriving shortly after.

Following the incident, the three men were arrested in the UK and all refused to answer questions.

Six migrants were removed from the van and deported and the drivers of the two cars drove off but have since been prosecuted in Belgium.

Judge Martin Steiger QC said the offences involved the ‘ruthless exploitation’ of people who want to live in the UK.

Corkovic, 28, of Murray Street, Salford, was jailed for seven years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiring to assist unlawful immigration, and received a further three months for unrelated driving offences.

Downie, 31, of Seedley Park Road, Salford, was sentenced to seven years in prison, and Gjyriqi, 31, of Approach Road, Merton, London, was sentenced to five years and two months.