A MURDER suspect was arrested after sailing into an exclusive marina with a yacht full of Albanian nationals.

The 55-year-old British man, who has not been named, was stopped in Chichester Marina by police who had been tracking his yacht.

He was arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and the 17 Albanian men were arrested on suspicion of entering the UK illegally.

The yacht had sailed from France and was passing the Isle of Wight on Monday afternoon where the Hampshire Police Marine Unit was searching for a missing person.

Officers had suspicions and decided to check on the yacht and pulled up alongside it.

They spoke to the British man but were unable to board the yacht due to the poor weather conditions.

However, they discovered he was heading for Chichester Harbour and informed Sussex Police to be ready to intercept the yacht on Monday night.

Workers at Chichester Marina, which is three miles to the south west of the city, said officers were in place from early in the evening waiting for the yacht to arrive.

Then, at around 10pm, officers boarded the vessel and found not only the man wanted on suspicion of a murder in Spain but also the 17 Albanian nationals.

A marina employee, who asked not to be named, said police had been tight lipped about the operation yesterday.

He said: "We don't really know much at all. I left at around 9.30pm and they were waiting then, I didn't see the man or the boat though. Nobody seems to know much about it."

A marina spokeswoman described the man as a "local boater" and said it was thought he had visited the marina on a number of occasions.

However, she said he was not a permanent berth holder.

Chichester Harbour is one of the most exclusive mooring spots in the county with annually prices exceeding £10,000 a year.

As it is not used as an entry point for foreign travel it does not have UK Border Control.

The arrests come after The Argus revealed last month that illegal immigrants are increasingly trying to enter the country through smaller ports with security having been ramped up at the likes of Dover and Portsmouth.

Phil Nicholas, chief inspector of the Sussex Police Roads Policing Unit, told The Argus his team is dealing with a steady number of migrants on an almost daily basis.

A Home Office spokesman said that officers had been called by police yesterday morning following the operation.

He added: "The 17 Albanians are detained pending Home Office consideration of their cases. Where someone is found to have no right to remain in the UK, we will take action to remove them.

"The 55-year-old man is now in custody pending interview by Immigration Enforcement criminal investigators."

FORCE ARRESTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ALMOST DAILY

ILLEGAL migrants smuggled in through our ports are being arrested in Sussex on a near daily basis, a leading officer told The Argus last month.

The county has seen an influx in people trafficking since the migrant crisis exploded last year with 119 arrested in the last six months by roads police alone.

Last month the National Crime Agency (NCA) – the UK’s equivalent of the FBI – also warned that criminal gangs are targeting smaller ports such as Newhaven because of perceived lesser security at the likes of Dover and Folkstone.

Phil Nicholas, chief inspector of the Sussex Police Roads Policing Unit, said his team is dealing with a steady number of migrants on an almost daily basis.

An NCA spokesman told The Argus this was based on intelligence they and their European partners had gathered.

He said they are also “alive to the threat” that terror groups could use ports such as Newhaven to smuggle terrorists into the country.

He said: “There is instability in many of the countries people are coming from and terror groups use that, so we are alive to the threat.

“Our operations are ongoing and any intelligence we get to suggest terror groups are using ports to get people into the country we will pass on to counter terror police.”

A Home Office spokesman said yesterday: “The security of our border is paramount. We work with our partners to detect and deter people who attempt to reach the UK illegally, while targeting the criminal gangs behind illegal entry attempts.”