A MAN who helped organise a plot to smuggle illegal immigrants into the UK has been jailed for five years.

Mark Minister, aged 47, acted as a middle-man for members of an organised crime group, which was infiltrated by an undercover NCA officer.

In 2017, NCA officers discovered the conspirators were planning to establish a scheme to smuggle people into the country, from which they hoped to pocket around £4,000 per person brought in.

Plans were made to collect around 10 people from the continent on May 31, 2017 but the the attempt was called off.

In August 2017, Minister was arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to assisting in unlawful immigration.

After the aborted attempt Anthony Corkovic, of Murray Street, Salford, and Scott Downie, of Seedley Road, Salford, were involved in a second conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.

They both pleaded guilty and, in October 2017, they were each jailed for seven years along with Jetlind Gjyriqi, of Approach Road, Merton, London.

On Tuesday, Minister, of Hodge Road, Walkden, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court for his role in the conspiracy

NCA senior investigating officer Jez Hope said: “We are doing everything possible to prevent people smuggling which is a priority threat for the National Crime Agency.

“We have knocked a hole in this organised crime group’s abilities.

“The crime group treated people as a commodity to make profit from; perfectly happy to risk their safety on incredibly dangerous journeys over hundreds of miles.

“Organised immigration crime cuts across borders so it’s vital that international law enforcement shares intelligence and works together.”