Sunday, December 7, 2025 - An illegal migrant convicted of child s£xual offences attempted to sabotage his removal from the UK by swallowing a vape battery shortly before his scheduled deportation flight.
The Indian national is said to have swallowed the device in
what a High Court judge called a calculated bid to be taken to hospital and
evade deportation.
The Home Office had arranged the removal of the man,
convicted in Scotland last year of s£xual activity with a child and supplying
Class B drugs, for September 23 after repeated delays caused by the Indian High
Commission’s failure to issue emergency travel documents, the court heard.
But more than two months on, he was still in the UK this
week after all removal attempts ultimately collapsed when the Indian officials
did not provide the paperwork required.
Referred to in court only by his surname Sharma, he was
jailed for three years in August 2024, before being released in November last
year and immediately transferred to a secure immigration centre.
His jail sentence was shortened because he had already spent
time in custody before being convicted.
The High Court in London also heard that he has ‘failed to
comply with bail conditions on several occasions, including committing criminal
offences’.
He was granted release on conditional immigration bail in
May, but wasn’t actually let out as officials couldn’t find approved
accommodation for him.
‘Any proposed accommodation had to be approved in order ...
to ensure that it was not too close to schools, parks and other places where
children were likely to be,’ said Justice Simon Tinkler.
Following the incident with the vape battery, another
deportation was scheduled for November 6, but Sharma didn’t board the flight
because the Indian officials still hadn’t filed the correct paperwork.
As of Tuesday, he remained in immigration detention in
Scotland, where the only centre is Dungavel House, 40 minutes south of
Glasgow.
The judge said keeping him in a secure centre made it far
easier to prevent further attempts to disrupt the removal process, such as
swallowing dangerous objects before the escort staff arrived.
The ruling also acknowledged Sharma may still bring a
separate legal claim for compensation if he argues the timeframe of his
immigration detention is unlawful.
The Home Office told the court his removal was ‘likely
imminent’ and that the claimant posed a risk to the public, given his criminal
history, past breaches of bail, and earlier attempt to obstruct removal.
Justice Tinkler accepted those arguments, finding that
detention remained lawful for the time being
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