Ukrainian men who smuggled migrants into the UK via Gosport Marina are jailed - and 'likely' to be deported
Two Ukrainian men who ran a “premium bespoke taxi service” smuggling migrants into the UK onboard a yacht have been jailed.
Vladyslav Cherniavskyi, 38, was jailed for six years and Oleksandr Yavtushenko, 43, for five years having previously pleaded guilty at Portsmouth Crown Court to three charges of assisting unlawful immigration.
They were arrested after the interception of the yacht, Uforia, four-and-a-half miles off the coast of Chichester, West Sussex, on July 20 2025 in an operation involving the National Crime Agency (NCA), Border Force and French law enforcement.
The vessel, which was purchased by Cherniavskyi for 20,000 US dollars (£15,000) in April 2024 and sailed by Yavtushenko, was then escorted into Gosport Marina. Five migrants - four Albanian males and a Vietnamese female - were handed over to the immigration authorities, according to the NCA.
Robin Leach, prosecuting, said that the pair had carried out at least eight crossings and added: “Both defendants ferried migrants across the English Channel from northern France to the English coast, in particular to Itchenor in Chichester Harbour and they ferried the migrants across the Channel in a yacht called Uforia.
“It was established some of the migrants paid up to 15,000 euros - this was a premium bespoke service and any one trip would involve three to six migrants being taken across the Channel.”
Mr Leach added that the first count related to a crossing on August 10, 2024, from Fecamp, near Le Havre, bringing six migrants to Itchenor where witnesses saw a “clumsy attempt to moor the boat” before the occupants walked to the village where they were met by someone.
The second charge relates to a crossing on June 15, 2025, involving a couple and a child with the third count being the July 20 crossing. Three of the Albanians in this crossing are applying for asylum in the UK while the fourth was returned to his home country. Mr Leach added that the Vietnamese girl was “very young” and was currently in UK foster care.
Sentencing the pair, Judge William Ashworth KC said: “You were both part of an insidious black market draining families of money and perpetuating the misery of illegal immigration.
“Of particular concern in this case is that on one occasion you willingly transported a young Vietnamese female travelling alone who upon arrival into the UK was taken in to foster care meaning that she was a particularly vulnerable person and transporting her into the UK is a callous act.
“It was a premium service and you both accept you received significant amounts of money albeit you were not the organisers who, one would conclude, would take the lion’s share of the money.”
The judge said that the pair would likely be deported at the completion of their sentence.
Tim Burton, CPS specialist prosecutor, said: “Cherniavskyi and Yavtushenko were effectively running an illegal migrant taxi service across the English Channel.
“Thanks to the National Crime Agency they were caught red handed and evidence shared by French authorities meant we were able to build an unanswerable case.”
Julian Harriman, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “These men ran what can only be described as a kind of ferry service, moving small numbers of people over the Channel each time, but charging them a premium price for the service.
“They stood to make tens of thousands of pounds for each trip but we were able to work with our French partners to stop this enterprise in its tracks
“Targeting people smugglers like this remains a priority for the NCA, and we’re doing all we can to disrupt and dismantle the gangs involved, wherever they operate.”
Border security commander maritime, Charlie Eastaugh, added: “These smugglers were driven solely by profit, charging tens of thousands of pounds for a ‘luxury’ illegal journey to the UK which couldn’t be further from reality.
“Thanks to dedication of my teams and our close colleagues in France, who work around the clock, we were able to disrupt these criminals who were putting the UK's border at risk.
“Anyone considering getting involved in people trafficking should be in no doubt that they will face the full force of the law.”