People trafficking case referred to the Court of Appeal

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has referred the sentence of a woman convicted for trafficking offences to the Court of Appeal because credit was not given for time she spent in custody whilst awaiting extradition to the UK.  

Franca Asemota was convicted on 3 August 2016 at Isleworth Crown Court of eight counts of conspiracy to traffic persons for sexual exploitation, two counts of trafficking out of the UK of another person for sexual exploitation, and two counts of assisting unlawful immigration to a member state. 

The offending occurred between August 2011 and April 2012 and related to Ms Asemota’s involvement in the trafficking of young women, mainly from remote villages in Nigeria, for the purposes of sexual exploitation.  

Ms Asemota received a sentence of 22 years’ imprisonment. The CCRC received an application for review of the sentence in January 2024.  

A review has found that whilst the Sentencing Judge had outlined that the 309 days Ms Asemota spent in custody in Nigeria while awaiting extradition should count towards the sentence, it was not formally pronounced as part of the Judge’s Sentencing Remarks.  

Consequently, these 309 days were not deducted from the sentence and this error cannot be administratively rectified. 

Section 243 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 sets out that the sentencing court should have made a statement in open court that time spent on remand in Nigeria under a European Arrest Warrant awaiting extradition to the UK for offences for which the defendant was subsequently convicted should be deduced from the sentence.  

There is therefore a real possibility the Court of Appeal will reduce Ms Asemota’s sentence by the 309 days spent on remand in Nigeria awaiting extradition. 

[ENDS]   

Notes to Editors:   

1. The CCRC is an independent body set up under the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. It is responsible for independently reviewing suspected and alleged miscarriages of criminal justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is based in Birmingham and is funded by the Ministry of Justice.     

2. There are currently nine Commissioners who bring to the CCRC considerable experience from a wide variety of backgrounds. Commissioners are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Prime Minister in accordance with the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice.   

3. The CCRC usually receives around 1,500 applications for reviews (convictions and/or sentences) each year. Since starting work in 1997, the CCRC has referred around 3% of applications to the appeal courts.     

4. The CCRC considers whether, as a result of new information or a new argument on a point of law, there is a real possibility that the sentence would not be upheld were a reference to be made. New information or argument on a point of law is argument or information which has not been raised during the original sentence hearing or on appeal.  Applicants should usually have appealed first. A sentence can be referred in the absence of an earlier appeal only if there are “exceptional circumstances”.    

5. If a case is referred, it is then for the appeal court to decide whether the sentence should be changed.       

6. More details about the role and work of the Criminal Cases Review Commission can be found at www.ccrc.gov.uk. The CCRC can be found on Twitter @ccrcupdate.