A family-run transportation service has been fined £66,000 by the UK Government after six migrants where found inside the back of a lorry.
The vehicle had travelled to Britain from Italy and despite being checked at several ports, EM Rogers are still required to pay the huge financial penalty.
The haulage company insist their driver "was not negligent" and has been doing "everything possible" to ensure the "correct security is in place".
Last November, the lorry was loaded in Italy and checked before the driver took a rest break in Dijon, before taking another rest break at a location three hours away from Calais.
A family-run transportation service has been fined £66,000 by the UK Government after six migrants where found inside the back of a lorryGB News/ GettyThe driver said he then underwent another check in Calais where nothing was detected.
But when the lorry arrived in the UK, six migrants were found.
Now the Home Office demands that boss Ed Rogers pays £66,000 as part of a Government scheme which aims to "strengthen the haulier civil penalty" to "ensure that drivers are taking every reasonable step to deter illegal migration".
Rogers told GB News: "At the end of the day, our guys are normal guys going about their work and they're not border force agents, they're not security guards and here we are being punished on this occasion.
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"We send 50 trucks every week into the EU, we're doing 2,500 crossings a year into Europe so for us to speak up and say this is unfair, we need to be speaking loudly about it because this could happen almost every trip.
"But it's not, we're diligent, we check our vehicles, we go above and beyond."
The driver has also being fined £36,000 following the incident.
Rogers added: "We've had two incidents in the last three years and we're doing 2,500 crossings a year and we've had two incidents, if you compare that to the number of dinghies crossing the channel on a daily basis - I think we're doing a pretty good job.
One of Ed Rogers' vehicles was damaged by migrants two years ago
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are relentless in our pursuit of those who seek to enter the UK illegally, and stand ready to respond robustly to clandestine arrivals.
"Far too many vehicles are not adequately secured to stop migrants boarding them.
"That’s why, in the last 12 months, we have strengthened the haulier civil penalty with significantly increased financial penalties to ensure that drivers are taking every reasonable step to deter illegal migration and disrupt people smugglers."
