Canterbury Crown Court Sentencing Results

In June 2022, Jozef Balog, a 33-year-old Slovakian national, attempted to bring a Vietnamese woman into the UK by concealing her in a tiny, custom-built hideaway behind the dashboard of his modified Vauxhall Vectra. The vehicle was intercepted by Border Force officers at the UK Control Zone in Coquelles, Northern France. Officers noticed the passenger side carpet was out of place and dismantled the glove box, discovering the woman in cramped conditions. Balog claimed he was returning to his home in Manchester after visiting relatives.

Daniel Whereatt, 48, of Seymour Road, Bristol, was stopped at Dover’s Eastern Docks on March 18, 2019, as he returned to the UK from Amsterdam. He claimed to have been on a day trip to Dunkirk, but phone analysis confirmed he was in Amsterdam picking up heroin. Border Force officers searched his car after noticing a strong smell of fuel and found 18 tape-wrapped packages submerged in the fuel sender tanks, containing 6kg of heroin worth £800,000 and 2kg of cutting agents (paracetamol and caffeine). His DNA was on a screwdriver and metal file near the concealment area. The vehicle was insured for only two days, believed to be solely for the drug importation.

Ashari Mohamed, 28, a Sudanese national, piloted a small boat carrying 37 people including Sudanese, Iraqi, Syrian and Albanian nationals and eight children across the English Channel. The vessel was intercepted by the Border Force on July 10, 2022. Mohamed allegedly received 600 euros for the role due to his previous experience, though he claimed he did it for free in exchange for passage.

Azad Ahmadi, 31, of Westgreen Avenue in Derby, was the paymaster in a people smuggling ring, intimately involved in planning to bring seven Iraqi nationals illegally into the UK. He transferred £4,280 to the Fullwoods' account to facilitate two smuggling attempts in December 2018 and January 2019.

Nicholas Fullwood, 48, of Wingfield Road in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, hired a van and attempted to smuggle five Iraqi nationals into the UK in December 2018 but was stopped by French authorities. A month later, he and his wife attempted to smuggle two more Iraqis hidden inside furniture in a second hired van, with their 13-year-old daughter present.

Pamela Fullwood, 45, of Wingfield Road in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, joined her husband in attempting to smuggle Iraqi nationals into the UK. In December 2018, her husband was stopped by French authorities with five migrants. In January 2019, they tried to smuggle two Iraqis hidden in furniture in a hired van, with their 13-year-old daughter travelling with them. Received £4,280 from the scheme's paymaster.

Robert Keogh, 37, from Clonee, Dublin, was stopped by Border Force officers at the Port of Dover at 5am on Friday 2 August 2019 en route from Calais. He had left the UK through Dover on 24 July 2019 and claimed he was returning from driving around Europe. A search of his Volkswagen Passat recovered 60 firearms, including a Turkish manufactured Zoraki blank firing handgun converted to fire live ammunition concealed in the rear-left quarter panel, and 59 others wrapped in plastic and hidden in the bumper and rear quarter panels. None had serial numbers. This was believed to be the largest seizure of lethal weapons at a UK port. Latex gloves, three sim cards, and four mobile phones were also found. In interview, Keogh stated he had a 3,000 Euros gambling debt and claimed the vehicle was out of his control for three days while abroad, suspecting money might have been hidden in it. The firearms belonged to an organised crime group.

Horace Nix, 84, of Manley Close, Whitfield, carried out sex attacks on two girls in the 1990s. One victim attempted to report the abuse at age 11 by calling Childline but was made to believe it was a dream and retracted her claims. The case was reopened in 2013 after complaints from victims following Malcolm Nix's conviction for other offences. Police found evidence supporting the allegations, leading to conviction on all charges.

Malcolm Nix, 55, of Holt Street, Nonington, a plumber, carried out sex attacks on two girls in the 1990s alongside his father. In 2013, police investigated after victims' complaints, seizing his laptop containing 160 indecent images of children. He denied 14 offences but was convicted on all charges. He had a prior conviction in 2013 for a sex attack on a woman, for which he received a suspended sentence, and earlier this year for eight more offences.

Zack Bradley punched the victim twice, knocking him unconscious, at The Lido in Cliftonville, Margate, in the early hours of December 14, 2024, during a gig. The attack followed an argument over DJ etiquette and was caught on mobile phone footage. The victim suffered fractures to his eye socket and cheekbone, required facial filler, spent a night in A&E, and cancelled six gigs. Bradley had taken cocaine and turned himself in days later.

Zylfi Hata, 35, was one of three men arrested at a large commercial site in School Lane, Ramsgate, transformed into a dedicated cannabis farm with over 1,000 plants across three floors, basement and loft, plus makeshift living quarters, equipment including 291 lamps powered by tampered electricity, capable of producing £105,000 to £540,000 worth of cannabis.

Vasile Balcovei, 49, from Tulcea in Romania, a lorry driver who smuggled migrants into the UK for a London-based people smuggling gang, dropped two individuals he had smuggled into the UK at Thurrock Services in Essex in February 2021. The drop-off was witnessed by a member of the public, and the two illegal passengers were picked up by a mini-cab which was being tracked by the NCA. Officers were later able to trace Balcovei’s lorry back to the scene, but by that time he had left the country and returned home. He was eventually arrested in Romania and extradited to the UK to face charges in September.

Victor Walkom carried out sexual offences against two girls aged less than 15 years old. The offences took place in 2016 and 2017. He was charged with five counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of causing a child to watch a sexual act. The victims later reported the offences to Kent Police, prompting an investigation by detectives from the Vulnerability Investigation Team.

On 25 January 2023, an 18-year-old man was walking with a friend in Benstead Grove, Faversham, when a vehicle was deliberately driven at them. The victim ran to St Paul’s Avenue seeking help and was pursued by Troy Gosden and Kai Theodule from the car. Gosden assaulted the victim with a machete, puncturing his lung and causing cuts to an arm and hands. The victim underwent surgery. Gosden was arrested on 28 January 2023.

Thomas Pearson, along with Matthew Sales and Jed Coates, attacked the victim with a kitchen knife, a chain and a wooden bat in Cheriton Road, Folkestone, at around 11.50am on 25 August 2020. Pearson approached the victim, punched him repeatedly in the face, and later hit him with a bike chain. The victim was taken to hospital with stab wounds requiring long-term treatment. The attack was witnessed by members of the public, including a young girl. Pearson handed himself in on 1 September 2020.

Taylor Houston was involved in 10 burglaries at properties in Herne Bay, Canterbury, Blean, Whitstable, Wingham and Sandwich between October and November 2022, as part of a conspiracy to burgle. A van linked to the offences was stopped in Sandwich on 21 November 2022. Jewellery stolen during some burglaries was recovered and returned to victims.

Terence Kamara, 26, of no fixed address, exposed himself and performed indecent acts in front of three female victims on separate occasions in Canterbury in March 2022: first near public toilets on 22 March 2022 caught on CCTV, then two teenage girls reported similar incidents, and again on 28 March 2022 to a woman in her 20s in the North Holmes Road area.

Terrance Kamara, a prisoner at HMP Elmley in Sheppey, repeatedly exposed himself to a member of prison staff after they responded to him pressing an emergency alarm bell. He would request items such as a pen or paper, and when the victim returned he would be exposed and committing an indecent act. The offences happened during July, August and October 2022 and led to him being charged with three counts of exposure, sexual assault of another victim inside the prison, and assault on an emergency worker.

On 1 April 2018 at 4am, Terry Dunne, 31, deliberately rammed a 48-year-old man with his white Range Rover in Vicarage Lane car park, Ashford, following a row involving a group of people. He then sped off, chased by police for nearly 100 yards, and was stopped in Station Road. Tests revealed he was almost twice the legal drink-drive limit. The victim was taken to a London hospital. Dunne later pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and drink driving.

Sam Wood produced a blade at the County Hotel, Ashford, on the evening of Thursday 29 July 2021, threatening people and behaving erratically. Kent Police attended around 11.45pm, arrested him in the beer garden where he showed them a bag containing the knife and a small quantity of cannabis. He became aggressive when led to a police van, spat at officers, and attempted to headbutt one. He also caused criminal damage to a prison cell.

On Friday 5 November 2021, Steven Luckie, a 50-year-old from Cradlebridge Drive, Willesborough, failed to stop for a marked police vehicle on the A259 in New Romney due to his manner of driving. He switched off his headlights, repeatedly reversed into the police vehicle in Sussex Road, and later rammed it again in Ashford Road. Officers ended the pursuit for safety. The car was found abandoned and burnt in Westwell Lane, Ashford. Three days later, Luckie reported the car stolen.