A previous smuggling attempt failed near Teignmouth, for which three traffickers have been jailed. In 2019, 30 illegal immigrants believed to be Vietnamese arrived at the beach at Newlyn fishing port, west of Penzance. Four people were later arrested for suspected human trafficking. Kim Ryder runs the Lime Coffee Company dinner at the Strete Gate car park, where the boat is believed to have landed. “I guess this may be a unique case, but I’m surprised they have come so far offshore,” he said. The journey would be much longer for immigrants, with the nearest part of France being 88 miles away compared to the 21-mile distance from Calais to Dover. The majority of migrants who landed about 280 miles away in Kent shook their heads when asked if they knew about Rwanda’s plan. In Dungeness, under the blue, cloudless skies, a lifeboat crew tried to rescue about 40 migrants.
