After detecting or suspecting clandestine entrants in a trailer on the route to the United Kingdom, the driver does not act alone: they secure the situation and notify the relevant authorities. A documented inspection of the trailer and load for damage and contamination then follows. In our Milton Keynes warehouse we take in such a load, check it and prepare the documentation.
The Polish-language version of this article is the reference one. This is an informational translation.
Securing the vehicle: a duty, not goodwill
British rules expect the carrier to operate an effective vehicle securing system and to check it regularly: sound curtains, cords, seals and padlocks, checking the securing after every stop, and a record of those checks. It is precisely the absence of such a system and documentation that exposes you to a penalty when people are found in the trailer. GOV.UK publishes the prevention rules in its guidance on securing a vehicle against illegal entry.
What the driver does after detecting people
- Does not act alone towards the hidden people; looks after their own safety and that of others.
- Notifies the relevant authorities, and in the United Kingdom reports the event in line with the guidance (Border Force, police).
- Preserves the evidence: the state of the seals and securing, the point of breach, the check records.
- Documents: where and when the entry probably happened, and in what state the securing was.
This part is a matter of safety and legal compliance, not logistics. We step in where the fate of the load begins: what happens next to goods that travelled in a breached trailer.
Inspecting the trailer and load in the warehouse
A breached trailer means two problems at once: damaged securing and a potentially contaminated or tampered load. In our Milton Keynes warehouse we take in such a trailer and run an inspection: we check the seals and signs of entry, assess whether the goods were moved, and look for packaging damage and traces of contact. On hygienically sensitive goods we use inspection under UV light, which we describe in the article on UV inspection and UVC decontamination. The full procedure for inspecting goods after contact by unauthorised people is covered in the complementary article on cargo inspection after unauthorised people.
Food: a separate regime
If food travelled in the breached trailer, contact by unauthorised people can decide its fate: part of the batch may not be fit for onward trade, and the decision is made in line with food safety rules and the consignee procedures. We describe this scenario in the article on food safety after a trailer breach. We do not decide for the consignee, but we give them a documented basis for the decision.
Documentation: the key in a penalty and a claim
In a civil penalty case documentation can be the difference between a defence and its absence. So we gather the full set: evidence of the securing system used and its checks, a record of the event and the report, photographs of the state of the trailer and load, a description of the inspection and the actions taken. The same material then serves the consignee for the acceptance decision, and the sender and insurer for settling the loss. What such a warehouse report looks like is described around the Milton Keynes warehouse.
How we handle such an event
We route a breached trailer to our Milton Keynes warehouse, where within our warehousing and inspection services we take in the load, run an inspection, a UV check on sensitive goods and prepare the documentation. Goods that pass inspection return to circulation and move on to the consignee as a sound, documented delivery.
Sources
- GOV.UK: clandestine entrant civil penalty scheme
- GOV.UK: secure your vehicle to help stop illegal immigration
- GOV.UK: report illegal immigration
Have a breached trailer on its way to the UK or already on site? Describe the event in the contact form and we will take the load into the warehouse, run the inspection and prepare the full documentation.
