A haulage firm is fighting civil penalties totalling more than £9,000 after 16 stowaways were found inside one of its trucks.
Kings Lynn-based KGB Transport said its driver is also facing an £8,000 bill after the immigrants were discovered in its vehicle at Calais.
Boss Ken Brown said he had put the case in the hands of solicitors at the Road Haulage Association and that the Home Office was toughening up its response to hauliers.
However, he said he was concerned about the outcome because there was no written documentation of the checks made by the driver.
“We have done our checks manually but we haven’t made the documentation. The RHA said they could have charged £2,000 per person and they are imposing £600 for each.”
The driver, Ray Taylor, had parked in Boulogne overnight on his way back from a run to the South of France in March.
According to a local newspaper report, he checked his vehicle before setting off to Calais, where Border guards discovered 16 men from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Eritrea on board.
Taylor has now contacted local MP Steve Barclay for help.
Barclay said: “I’m going to be asking if this route was subject to body-scanning machines. I accept lorry drivers have restrictions, but border controls have responsibilities too.”
The RHA’s manager of international affairs, Peter Cullum, said: “The Vine report last November said fines should be levied in accordance with inflation. It’s been static for some years. I don’t know if they have got tougher but they are maybe more reflective of modern price levels.”
Last week transport associations attacked a threat from the mayor of Calais to close the French port if more was not done to tackle immigrants attempting to reach the UK.
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