Sudanese channel boat pilot who was identified by his garish festive jumper is jailed

Published: 23:11, 16 July 2026 | Updated: 23:26, 16 July 2026 A Sudanese man was identified as the pilot of an overcrowded migrant dinghy by the distinctive Christmas jumper he was wearing. The boat driven by Bol Chuol, 27, was intercepted off the coast of Kent while trying to cross the English Channel on March 22 with 71 people on board, including an 11-month-old toddler, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. People's feet were dangling in the sea as it was so overcrowded, not everyone was wearing a lifejacket, water entered the boat and there were no lights to make it visible, prosecutors said. As the dinghy got closer to the British coast, Chuol was filmed by drones throwing his coat into the sea and moving down the boat to avoid detection. But he was later identified by immigration enforcement from the Christmas jumper he was filmed wearing. Chuol was jailed for two years at Canterbury Crown Court after pleading guilty to endangering the lives of others by piloting small boats, the CPS said. Charun Magok, 19, was jailed at the same court for 16 months after he piloted a boat on March 20 designed for five people but with six on board. He later told immigration officials he had no experience piloting boats and agreed it was dangerous to cross the Channel. Bol Chuol was identified as a channel boat pilot because of a loud Christmas jumper he was wearing He wore the jumper as he piloted a boat intercepted off the coast of Kent while attempting to cross the Channel in March Your browser does not support iframes. Endangering others during a journey by sea to the UK is an offence that came into force in January as part of new border security legislation. Prosecutor Andrew Stephens said: 'The inflatable boats piloted by Bol Chuol and Charun Magok were dangerously unsuitable for crossing the Channel. 'It is just luck that no-one was seriously injured or died... if they make an asylum application their conviction will be taken into account.'