On 30 April, the 28-foot yacht Sander, carrying seven Ukrainian nationals on board, ran aground at low tide in Orford Harbour, UK, on the Suffolk coast.
Local residents reported the incident to the Coastguard and the Royal National Water Rescue Service. The latter dispatched a pair of rescue boats which , after communicating with the crew, «complicated by the language barrier», towed the yacht to an Orford jetty.
The crew of the yacht was taken to the local police on suspicion of illegally crossing the borders of the United Kingdom. Later, the Ukrainian deputy consul in London , Yuliya Pomazan, confirmed that the identities of the detainees had been established and confirmed. They are indeed Ukrainian nationals and will be deported due to violations of the UK migration law.
In September 2016, a group of six people landed at Bodsey village wharf. The illegal immigrants eluded local police, raising questions about the adequacy of funding for border services guarding Britain's coastline.
In October 2014, Ipswich Crown Court heard the case of an organised criminal gang trying to smuggle migrants from Eastern Europe into Britain by landing in Orford under the cover of darkness. Three Ukrainians - Oleksandr Kozak, Oleg Bogdanov and Oleksiy Pavlyuchenko - then admitted their involvement in a conspiracy to facilitate the violation of Britain's migration laws.
