 |
| Simon Heap |
Dr Simon Heap and his wife Gladys Effa-Heap, formerly from the Helmshore area, were caught after DNA tests confirmed that neither were related to the child
A couple who attempted to smuggle a Nigerian baby into the UK by claiming it was their own have been spared jail.
Dr Simon Heap and his wife Gladys Effa-Heap, formerly from the Helmshore area, were caught after DNA tests confirmed that neither were related to the child.
The couple flew out to Nigeria in July 2010 and, during a visit to the British High Commissioner in Lagos, applied for a British passport for a baby girl.
They claimed Effa-Heap had given birth within days of them arriving.
Staff became suspicious and conducted DNA tests and also discovered the couple had presented them with a fraudulent birth certificate.
A joint operation from specialist Border Force officers and the Metropolitan Police was carried out and the couple were arrested and charged with facilitating a breach of immigration law.
Oxbridge graduate and former Haslingden High School pupil Heap, 47, and Effa-Heap, 52, of Waynflete Road in Headington, Oxford, both pleaded guilty at Isleworth Crown Court.
They were both given a 12-month suspended prison sentences and ordered to carry out 250 hours of community service.
Heap, who has previously worked as a researcher for a child rights organisation, was also ordered to pay £670 in prosecution costs.
Speaking after the cases, Marc Owen, head of Border Force at Heathrow, said: “This was a shocking case where a couple attempted to pass someone else’s baby off as their own in an attempt to bring it to the UK.”
Detective Inspector Kate Bridger, who led the investigation team, said: “A child should not be treated as a commodity to be bought and sold.
“This couple attempted to circumvent the adoption system and deceive the authorities.
“That system is in place to protect children and we will do all we can to bring to justice those who try and get round it in this kind of way.”
Source: Rossendalefreepress
No comments:
Post a Comment