People smugglers offer migrants ‘package deals’ to UK as Channel crossings top 150,000 since 2018
Keir Starmer has put international cooperation with law enforcement agencies in Europe at the heart of his bid to cut the number of arrivals
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.People smugglers are offering migrants crossing the Channel “package deals” including travel, accommodation and a job to boost business, it has emerged.
As Labour and the Conservatives trade blows over migration, with figures confirming more than 150,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats in the last seven years, Albanian gangs are urging hopeful migrants to take advantage of “messy and busy” airports over Christmas to enter the UK on stolen passports.
Adverts on TikTok reportedly show TV-style marketing for packages costing as little as £2,500, payable on arrival in Dover, which included “specialised people” waiting to pick migrants up, take them to rental properties and find them black-market jobs paying cash.
Messages seen by The Times showed one smuggler telling a potential migrant they could fly him and his fiancée to the UK, find a house to rent for £1,000 a month in London and “simple work”, all for a £12,000 fee. The message included photos of the home in the style of an online estate agent.
It came as 407 people made the journey in 10 boats on Boxing Day, according to Home Office figures published on Friday, while photographs suggested more people had made the crossing on 27 December.
Combined with the 451 people who crossed the Channel on Christmas Day, that brought the total since January 1 2018 to 150,243 – equivalent to the population of Cambridge.
A Home Office source sought to blame the previous government for the figures, saying: “The Tories left an appalling legacy of broken border security.
“We are fixing the foundations with a new Border Security Command, 100 new specialist investigators and new agreements with Europe and beyond to break up the business models of the evil criminal gangs making millions from small boat crossings.
“We are increasing removals of those with no right to be here and are clamping down on illegal working.”
But shadow home secretary Chris Philp said it was “an insult that Labour has allowed 858 illegal immigrants into the country on Christmas Day and Boxing Day”.
Mr Philp added: “By scrapping the Rwanda deterrent before it started, Labour has let us down. We saw removal deterrents work in Australia.”
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has put international cooperation with law enforcement agencies in Europe at the heart of his bid to cut the number of arrivals, having promised to “smash the gangs” smuggling people across the Channel during this year’s election.
More than 22,324 people have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel since Sir Keir walked into Number 10 when Labour won the election in July, up 24 per cent on the same period in 2023 but down 32 per cent on the record year of 2022.
So far this year, 35,898 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel, provisional Home Office figures show.
That is up 22 per cent on this time last year, but down 22 per cent on 2022.
Days in which the wind and wave levels in the Channel are the most conducive to crossings are referred to as “red days”, and a period earlier in the autumn brought the highest concentration of red days in a month, with 26 out of 31 days between October 11 and November 10.
The second half of 2024 has also already brought more red days than the same period in 2023.
Meanwhile, the National Crime Agency said it is leading about 70 live investigations into organised immigration crime or human trafficking.
Some 50 people have died while trying to cross the Channel this year, according to incidents recorded by the French coastguard, in what is considered the deadliest year since the crisis began.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has also reported several more migrant deaths believed to be linked to crossing attempts so far in 2024.
The number of migrants crossing the Channel has steadily increased since 299 people were detected in 2018.
In December of that year, then-home secretary Sajid Javid cut short a Christmas break to return to the UK and take charge of the unfolding crisis.
He declared a “major incident” after 40 migrants made the journey on Christmas Day and 12 more arrived days later.
There were 1,843 crossings recorded in 2019 and 8,466 in 2020, according to the Home Office.
A record 45,774 people made the journey in 2022 compared with 28,526 in 2021.
In 2023, 29,437 people arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “These despicable people-smuggling gangs are exploiting vulnerable people by peddling lies on social media and placing them in horrendous conditions, working for next to nothing.
“Anyone found to be doing this will face severe penalties, and we are working with the National Crime Agency and major social media companies to rapidly remove online adverts promoting dangerous small boat crossings.
“Since July, arrests against illegal working have risen by nearly a third compared to the same time last year, and we have also increased enforced returns by 25 per cent.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments