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Suspected of stealing money from immigrants/ British officers deny charges, including an Albanian

2026-02-26 17:22:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Suspected of stealing money from immigrants/ British officers deny charges,

British immigration officers accused of stealing money and assets from small boats carrying migrants arriving in the UK have pleaded not guilty in their trial.

The six officers charged worked for the Home Office and response teams in covert anti-immigration operations in the south-east of the United Kingdom.

Besmir Matera, 36, Lee-Ann Evanson, 42, John Bernthal, 53, Ben Edwardes, 45, Jack Mitchell, 33, and David Grundy, 43, are accused of money laundering, while five of them face charges of breach of duty and conspiracy to commit theft, which occurred between 2021 and 2022.

They appeared together in the dock at Southwark Crown Court in London, denying all charges during their arguments. Prosecutor Lyndon Harris told the court that the defendants were responsible for managing the arrival of migrants in small boats, the initial processing of their data, and the screening of migrants' bags.

Judge Nicholas Rimmer informed the defendants that their next trial was set for January 17, 2028, and they were released on bail.

Albanian Besmir Matera, one of the officers charged, is also accused of obtaining permission to enter the UK by fraud between 2003 and 2004. The court said he lied about his personal circumstances, including giving a false name, date of birth, place of birth and nationality when he applied for asylum.

He applied for asylum in 2003, claiming to be from Kosovo and had arrived in Britain in the back of a lorry. But Matera was from Albania and arrived in Britain on a school trip. The 36-year-old also faces two charges of possessing an identity document for an improper purpose, specifically a passport and a driving licence. /CNA





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