André Williams, STAR Writer

A Jamaican man received a prison sentence of 10 months for attempting to smuggle an Afghan couple and their four-month-old baby in the boot of his car, through the Channel tunnel which links France with Britain.

According to www.dailymail.co.uk, British people-trafficker Dwight Johnson, 52, hid an Afghan couple and their infant in the vehicle's trunk for five hours, as he tried to smuggle them through the tunnel.

Johnson, who lives in London but was born in Jamaica, admitted to giving the baby a sedative to silence it, as he tried to pass through customs.

THE STAR gathered that he was stopped by border patrol, who arrested him for his unlawful actions. It was disclosed during last Friday's court hearing that Johnson had been paid £2,000 (J$348,776.02) to sneak the family across the border and into Britain.

Johnson was also chastised by the magistrate who reportedly told him, "You had no regard for the safety of the family, and your actions put their lives at risk."

He was sentenced and banned from returning to the region for three years after his release.