Joe Duggan (Reporter)
A BRITISH man wanted for questioning over missing Scottish expat Lisa Brown has been jailed for people smuggling.
Stephen Jackson, 51, has been sentenced to four years and nine months for trying to smuggle a group of Albanians into the UK after entering a guilty plea.
Jackson was arrested by Sussex Police in May when his catamaran was stormed at Chichester Marina.
He was also served with extradition papers in relation to missing Lisa Brown and is expected to appear at extradition trial next month.
However, he will not be deported to Spain until he has completed his prison sentence in the UK.
Assistant Director David Fairclough, from Immigration Enforcement Criminal Investigations, said that Jackson was ‘at the centre’ of an organised people smuggling gang.
Jackson is believed to be close friends with Lisa’s ex-partner Simon Corner who has also been arrested over the mother-of-one’s (pictured below) disappearance.
A former carpenter in Gibraltar, Jackson frequently moored his boat in Alcaidesa Marina over the last 12 months, it has been revealed.
A yacht owner at the marina confirmed to the Olive Press that Jackson had moored his yacht there ‘at least two or three times’ in recent months.
“He seemed like an ordinary guy. He used to sail over to Lanzarote and had a job as a carpenter in Gibraltar,” the yacht owner said.
“When I heard the story about him smuggling those people I was surprised. He didn’t seem so stupid.”
Another yacht owner, whose vessel had been moored near Corner’s, told the Olive Press that Spanish police investigating Brown’s disappearance had not yet been to the marina to talk to yacht owners.
