A people smuggler tried to avoid deportation by claiming he was in contract discussions with Manchester City. Dragos Lujinschi, 38, also claimed he was considering buying a football club with Premier League player, Bernardo Silva.
However, at Lujinschi’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court hearing, the judge found his claims not “at all likely” and ordered his extradition to France, where he faces two years in jail for attempting to smuggle ten migrants into the country, reports The Sun. The judge also rejected claims that the Essex farm labourer was in relationships with “a number of women” who would be badly affected if he were to be extradited.
Lujinschi said he was “looking to return to playing football and has been in contact with Bernardo Silva from Manchester City in relation to training a team and investing in smaller teams, working to the Premier League”.
He added: “There may be potential for me to sign a contract with them. These prospects would be ruined if I were to be extradited.”
District Judge Annabel Pilling rejected his claims, saying: “I do not find that his projected football career with Manchester City is at all likely.”
He told the judge that he was frightened of being abused in a French jail and losing his home and job in Britain.
In May 2019, police reportedly caught Lujinschi parking his lorry and dropping off migrants in France on the border with Italy. He later started working at a farm near Colchester in Essex, supplying major supermarkets with fruit and vegetables.
Last December, he was jailed for 16 months for making abusive calls to emergency workers. Ipswich Crown Court heard how he was aggressive when arrested for making dozens of phone calls between July and August.
Lujinschi admitted two charges of threats to kill, five counts of sending indecent or offensive messages, one count of using public communication to cause annoyance, and one charge of criminal damage, reports the Daily Gazette.
Reading a statement provided by a police officer, the prosecution said Lujinschi used such force that they feared the van was not strong enough to keep him inside after he began “ferociously kicking” the internal cage door.