Latest news with #peopleSmuggling
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Three Albanians and a Moldovan woman are arrested in dawn raids targeting people smuggling ring 'who advertised illegal crossings on social media'
Four people have been arrested amid dawn raids targeting an alleged people smuggling gang said to have advertised illegal crossings from France on social media. Three Albanian men and a woman from Moldova were detained on suspicion of immigration offences as part of a National Crime Agency investigation into the group. They are also suspected of picking up illegal migrants from HGV stops in Kent and taking them to London. A 31-year-old man was arrested in Edmonton, north London, a 29-year-old man in Enfield and a 30-year-old man near Gatwick Airport on Wednesday. The 33-year-old woman was arrested in Leyton. Their arrests follow the conviction of a lorry driver earlier this year, prosecuted after Border Force officers found an illegal migrant hiding in a vehicle stopped at Dover in February. Officials from the NCA, Metropolitan Police and Home Office also visited five cafes in Walthamstow, Chingford and Dagenham, east London and other businesses thought to have been used by members of the smuggling gang. Separately, two people were arrested for immigration offences in Edmonton, while another individual was arrested by police for failing to appear at court. Five cafes in Walthamstow, Chingford and Dagenham, east London and other businesses thought to have been used by members of the smuggling gang were also visited NCA Branch Commander Adam Berry said: 'Tackling organised immigration crime remains a priority for the NCA, and the arrests carried out by my officers today are the result of an investigation into a gang we suspect of advertising and orchestrating HGV crossings from France. 'These types of illegal crossings, whether by boat or in HGVs, risk the lives of those being transported and threaten the UK's border security, which is why targeting the organisers behind them is so important for us. 'Working with law enforcement and Government partners we are determined to do all we can to target, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved in people smuggling. 'These arrests and further operations with partners to visit premises across east London show that in action.' The NCA said more than 8,000 social media accounts used by people smugglers were taken down in 2024. It currently has around 80 investigations into illegal migration gangs.
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
Four arrested after dawn raids targeting suspected people smugglers
Four people have been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences after dawn raids targeting an alleged people smuggling gang. Three Albanian men and a woman from Moldova are being questioned as part of a National Crime Agency investigation into a group that advertised illegal crossings from France on social media. They are also suspected of picking up illegal migrants from HGV stops in Kent and taking them to London. A 31-year-old man was arrested in Edmonton, north London, a 29-year-old in Enfield and a 30-year-old near Gatwick Airport on Wednesday. The woman was arrested in Leyton. Officials from the NCA, and other bodies including the Metropolitan Police and Home Office, also visited premises including five cafes in Walthamstow, Chingford and Dagenham, east London, thought to be used by members of the smuggling gang. In a separate operation, two people were arrested for immigration offences in Edmonton. NCA Branch Commander Adam Berry said: 'Tackling organised immigration crime remains a priority for the NCA, and the arrests carried out by my officers today are the result of an investigation into a gang we suspect of advertising and orchestrating HGV crossings from France. 'These types of illegal crossings, whether by boat or in HGVs, risk the lives of those being transported and threaten the UK's border security, which is why targeting the organisers behind them is so important for us. 'Working with law enforcement and Government partners we are determined to do all we can to target, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved in people smuggling. 'These arrests and further operations with partners to visit premises across east London show that in action.' The NCA said more than 8,000 social media accounts used by people smugglers were taken down in 2024. It currently has around 80 investigations into illegal migration gangs.
Telegraph
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
People smugglers deploy new tactics to evade French police
People smugglers are using lorries to transport migrants to beaches in an attempt to outwit French border police and gendarmes. The gangs are putting dozens of migrants into the lorries along with a dinghy so that they can avoid detection by police spotters, drones and night-vision cameras when they are driven to the beaches for launch. Police and gendarmes have previously been able to track the migrants as they walked to the beach to hide in the dunes ready for the arrival of 'taxi boats', which are brought from further down the coast or inland rivers and waterways. The new tactics come ahead of plans by the French interior ministry for officers from the elite Compagnie de Marche to intercept the 'taxi boats' at sea. The strategy is expected to be ready in time for the Anglo-French summit in London starting on July 8. Until now, the French have refused to intervene in the water because they claim maritime laws prevent them from taking action that could put lives at sea at risk. Hidden in plain sight There have also been instances of gangs driving the dinghies to the shore by car before dumping the vehicle. It is thought this tactic reduces the chance of the boat being intercepted and punctured it before it can get into the sea. On Tuesday morning, smugglers drove a Volvo estate on to the beach with a dinghy strapped to its roof, which was swiftly taken off and launched into the sea. French police also discovered a dinghy buried in the sand. A source close to the French border force's strategic planning said: 'This week we failed to stop a departure that took us by surprise at Etaples, because it's apparently a new modus operandi that has been put in place; this involves delivering migrants in trucks with boats inside, so they are brought directly to the beach and the operation is carried out very, very quickly. 'So this time, unlike last time, we were unable to intercept the truck, which escaped our surveillance. We didn't detect it, so they departed from Étaples. There were around 30 migrants. They were taking water so it's far from sure whether they managed to cross.' 'We've had trucks with huge numbers of migrants inside, arriving at the last minute from far away. We can't stop all the trucks driving around there either. So this allows them to escape our vigilance.' Some 17,278 migrants have arrived so far this year, up 40 per cent on last year and the highest to this point in the year since the first arrivals in 2018. The source said the forecasts for crossings were 'favourable' through to at least Friday. 'Unfortunately, the smugglers have the same forecast as us, so we know what to expect,' they said. 'It has nothing to do with the weather; it's all about conditions at sea. The reason that we have seen more crossings and attempted crossings this year is that there have been more such windows of opportunity.' The source said the aim was to stop two thirds of the boats, although figures released last month suggested the number of migrants being stopped had fallen to fewer than 40 per cent. They added that the French were adapting their tactics to tackle the 'taxi boats', but said the length of the coastline and inland waterways from which they could be launched was so immense that it was difficult to cover. 'Faced with this situation, we are further adapting our measures, but it requires a lot of men and equipment as we have to follow migrant groups to check for nearby taxi boat,' they said. 'We can't just patrol the waterways; a boat can be hidden in the forest and arriving discreetly along the coast. Traffickers have understood that once a boat is in the water, we don't intervene under current maritime law.'
Times
18-06-2025
- Times
Smugglers find new ways to circumvent French police
People smugglers appear to be changing their tactics in response to a more aggressive approach by French police by driving dinghies to the shore and dumping the car. Over the course of the past two years, smugglers have increasingly pursued a so-called 'taxi boat' strategy whereby they use France's inland waterways to drive the dinghies before cruising along the coast to pick up migrants who are told to wade into the water to be picked up. This was to circumvent police patrols on the beaches, which used high-tech radar equipment provided by the British to detect boats hidden in the dunes along the coast. Smugglers would inflate the dinghies on the morning of the launches as migrants waited to board but after a 2023 deal with Rishi Sunak's government that significantly improved their detection equipment and led to two thirds of boats being stopped by the French police, the smugglers switched to the taxi boat model.
Telegraph
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
People smugglers offer half price summer discount to cross Channel
People smugglers have halved their prices for migrants to try to cash in on the summer heatwave. Albanian crime gangs are offering Channel crossings for just £2,000 per person, the lowest price since 2002, partly in an attempt to lure their countrymen back to small boats as a route to the UK. The number of Albanians crossing the Channel has slumped from 12,658 in 2022, when they were the biggest nationality, to just 630 last year after the implementation of a fast-track deportation agreement with the UK. It reflects a price war amongst people smugglers offering summer discounts amid evidence that their profits are being hit by law enforcement disrupting supply chains and intercepting boats and equipment. The lower prices are thought to be behind the increase in the number of poorer migrants now making the journey. Eritreans, who are among the poorest asylum seekers, were the most common nationality arriving by small boat in the three months to June, accounting for one in five or 1,291 of the arrivals. It follows the disclosure in March that the crime gangs are offering migrants cheaper crossings if they agree to be filmed so smugglers can then use the videos to promote their services on social media. The hot weather and calm seas have seen 1,733 migrants reach the UK in small boats in the past week, including 919 last Friday, the second highest daily total this year. Some 16,317 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, up more than 40 per cent higher than at the same point last year and the record for any year since the first Channel arrivals in 2018. Downing Street admitted on Tuesday that the Channel crisis was 'deteriorating' but is hoping that a change in tactics by the French due to be implemented in two weeks' time will stem the surge. As first revealed by The Telegraph earlier this month, the French interior ministry has authorised police for the first time to intercept the people smugglers' 'taxi boats' and migrants at sea within 300 metres of the boats in an attempt to prevent them leaving for the UK. Until now, the French have refused to intervene in the water because they claim maritime laws prevent them from taking action that could put lives at sea at risk. But the French government has given the green light to do so while 'respecting' the 'law of the sea'. The latest discounted price has been advertised in a public Facebook group called 'Pune ne Angli' ('Work in England'), which is aimed at Albanians and has more than 17,000 followers. 'We have a journey on a small boat. Only £2000,' it says. 'The fall in price is due to a sharp decline in interest from Albanians using small boats. This is the cheapest offer ever, clearly aimed at attracting new clients. Last year, only 630 Albanians made the journey compared to 940 in 2023,' said an Albanian immigration expert. 'Albanians are now avoiding small boat crossings, knowing they will be processed by the Home Office in Dover and likely sent to detention centres, with the aim of deportation.' In the year to March, Afghans were the most common nationality arriving by small boat with 5,766 arrivals, two per cent up on the previous year. Syrians were the second highest nationality although the fall of the Assad regime has seen their numbers plummet in the most recent quarter, constituting just five per cent of arrivals. Eritrea was the third highest nationality arriving by small boat in the year ending March 2025, with 4,229 arrivals, an increase of 47 per cent on the previous year. There has been growing frustration at the apparent foot dragging by the French who so far this year have stopped fewer than 40 per cent of the boats, the lowest proportion on record, despite a three-year £480 million Anglo-French deal to combat the crossings. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, wants French border police and gendarmes to intercept the taxi boats not only in the shallow waters as they leave the beaches but also when they make their way from rivers and inland waterways to pick up the migrants. The French interior ministry told The Telegraph earlier this month that it will change its tactics 'so that we can operate in shallow waters, up to 300 metres from the coast, and thus intercept 'taxi boats', while respecting the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, known as the Montego Bay Convention.' It aims to have 'shared guidelines' on the strategy ready for the Anglo-French summit, which starts on July 8, when Emmanuel Macron, the French president, will travel to London for a state visit.
