25Assisting illegal entry, and harbouring
(1)Any person knowingly concerned in making or carrying out arrangements for securing or facilitating the entry into the United Kingdom of anyone whom he knows or has reasonable cause for believing to be an illegal entrant shall be guilty of an offence, punishable on summary conviction with a fine of not more than £400 or with imprisonment for not more than six months, or with both, or on conviction on indictment with a fine or with imprisonment for not more than seven years, or with both.
(2)Without prejudice to subsection (1) above a person knowingly harbouring anyone whom he knows or has reasonable cause for believing to be either an illegal entrant or a person who has committed an offence under section 24(1)(b) or (c) above, shall be guilty of an offence, punishable on summary conviction with a fine of not more than £400 or with imprisonment for not more than six months, or with both.
(3)A constable or immigration officer may arrest without warrant anyone who has, or whom he, with reasonable cause, suspects to have, committed an offence under subsection (1) above.
(4)The extended time limit for prosecutions which is provided for by section 28 below shall apply to offences under this section.
(5)Subsection (1) above shall apply to things done outside as well as to things done in the United Kingdom where they are done—
(a)by a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies;
(b)by a British subject by virtue of section 2 of the [1948 c. 56.] British Nationality Act 1948 (continuance of certain subjects of the Republic of Ireland as British subjects);
(c)by a British subject without citizenship by virtue of section 13 or 16 of that Act (which relate respectively to British subjects whose citizenship had not been ascertained at the commencement of that Act and to persons who had ceased to be British on loss of British nationality by a parent);
(d)by a British subject by virtue of the [1965 c. 34.] British Nationality Act 1965 ; or
(e)by a British protected person (within the meaning of the [1948 c. 56.] British Nationality Act 1948).
(6)Where a person convicted on indictment of an offence under subsection (1) above is at the time of the offence—
(a)the owner or one of the owners of a ship, aircraft or vehicle used or intended to be used in carrying out the arrangements in respect of which the offence is committed ; or
(b)a director or manager of a company which is the owner or one of the owners of any such ship, aircraft or vehicle; or
(c)captain of any such ship or aircraft;
then subject to subsections (7) and (8) below the court before which he is convicted may order the forfeiture of the ship, aircraft or vehicle.
In this subsection (but not in subsection (7) below) " owner " in relation to a ship, aircraft or vehicle which is the subject of a hire-purchase agreement, includes the person in possession of it under that agreement and, in relation to a ship or aircraft, includes a charterer.
(7)A court shall not order a ship or aircraft to be forfeited under subsection (6) above on a person's conviction, unless—
(a)in the case of a ship, it is of less than 500 tons gross tonnage or, in the case of an aircraft (not being a hovercraft), it is of less than 5,700 kilogrammes operating weight; or
(b)the person convicted is at the time of the offence the owner or one of the owners, or a director or manager of a company which is the owner or one of the owners, of the ship or aircraft; or
(c)the ship or aircraft, under the arrangements in respect of which the offence is committed, has been used for bringing more than 20 persons at one time to the United Kingdom as illegal entrants, and the intention to use the ship or aircraft in bringing persons to the United Kingdom as illegal entrants was known to, or could by the exercise of reasonable diligence, have been discovered by, some person on whose conviction the ship or aircraft would have been liable to forfeiture in accordance with paragraph (b) above.
In this subsection " operating weight" means in relation to an aircraft the maximum total weight of the aircraft and its contents at which the aircraft may take off anywhere in the world, in the most favourable circumstances, in accordance with the certificate of airworthiness in force in respect of the aircraft.
(8)A court shall not order a ship, aircraft or vehicle to be forfeited under subsection (6) above, where a person claiming to be the owner of the ship, aircraft or vehicle or otherwise interested in it applies to be heard by the court, unless an opportunity has been given to him to show cause why the order should not be made.