THREE would-be illegal immigrants from Iran have been caught trying to sneak into the UK on board a lorry heading for Stansted Airport.

THREE would-be illegal immigrants from Iran have been caught trying to sneak into the UK on board a lorry heading for Stansted Airport.

The men were discovered at 1.45am on September 1 after heartbeat detectors used by UK Border Agency officers working at the port of Coquelles in France indicated the presence of stowaways.

The officers then entered the German-registered vehicle and found the three hiding among a mixed load of freight destined for the airport.

The stowaways were handed over to French Border Police and the vehicle was allowed to continue to Stansted.

Both the German driver and the haulage company will be fined if they are unable to prove they took the correct steps to secure the vehicle.

Carole Upshall, the UK Border Agency’s head of European Operations, said: “This is why we base many of our officers in France and Belgium – to prevent illegal immigrants crossing the Channel to the UK.

“As well as using heartbeat detectors, our staff also use sniffer dogs, scanners and carbon dioxide probes to detect people who are hiding on board lorries.”

UK Border Agency officers use hi-tech search equipment to combat immigration crime and detect banned and restricted goods that smugglers attempt to bring into the country.

Throughout 2009 more than 29,000 illegal attempts to cross the Channel illegally were prevented.