A WINCHESTER man was among three jailed today for a total of 11 years for smuggling illegal immigrants into the UK.

Vineeth Nair Sudarsanan Shoba, a 29-year-old Indian, of Jewry Street, was jailed for three years four months.

The other two men from London were jailed for five and three years at Croydon Crown Court.

All the men had pleaded guilty to the charges at previous hearings in the same court.

The men had conspired to supply false passports to non-EEA nationals in an attempt to assist them to evade immigration laws and live and work in the UK.

All three men were in the country illegally and the Home Office will take steps to deport them on completion of their sentences.

Kristie Roberts from Home Office Criminal & Financial Investigation, said: “These sentences should serve as a warning to anyone thinking of getting involved in similar criminal activity that the Home Office is cracking down on all forms of immigration crime. Those who seek to cheat immigration laws face prosecution and conviction.”