AN Albanian man has admitted taking part in a plan to smuggle illegal immigrants into Devon on a yacht which ran aground off Teignmouth.
Indrit Barhani pleaded guilty to conspiracy to breach the Immigration Act when he appeared in custody at Exeter Crown Court.
The charges follow the stranding of a 27-foot yacht off Horse Cove, Teignmouth, on December 14, 2020, and the detention of eight Albanian men by police and immigration officials.
Barhani, aged 32, of no fixed address, admitted conspiracy to breach the 1971 Immigration Act between March 1, 2020, and December 15, 2020, by knowingly transporting non-European Union citizens to Britain.
Yacht skipper Jamie Wisbey, aged 54, of West Hoe, Plymouth, admitted the same offence at a previous hearing at the same court in January.
Fay Miles, aged 38, of no fixed address, Plymouth, has denied the conspiracy and a date has been set for her trial at Exeter Crown Court in November this year.
Judge Peter Johnson adjourned sentence on Barhani until after the conclusion of her case and remanded him in custody.
He agreed that the prosecution will provide his defence team with phone downloads and data, with translations where necessary, before they enter a basis of plea on his behalf.
Devon and Cornwall Police said at the time of the incident: ‘The arrests by officers from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, supported by Border Force, the National Crime Agency, Devon and Cornwall Police, Immigration Enforcement and HM Coastguard, are part of an ongoing investigation into people smuggling.’