Gangs use dangerous new tactic to smuggle Channel migrants
People-smuggling gangs have adopted a new 'dangerous' tactic of simultaneous migrant boat launches to outwit French police, the EU border agency has warned.
In an official update, Frontex, which has committed aerial surveillance and extra staff to the Channel, said smuggling networks providing the small boats were adapting their tactics in order to increase the number of successful crossings.
They have already switched to using 'taxi boats' where dinghies are sailed from inland rivers and waterways to pick up migrants in the shallow waters off the beaches.
But Frontex said the smuggling gangs were also using 'simultaneous departures'.
It said: 'This tactic puts more lives at risk in an already dangerous stretch of water as it hinders the search and rescue efforts of the national authorities.'
The risks are compounded by the increasing numbers of migrants being crammed into the flimsy dinghies. There were 54 migrants per boat in the year ending March 2025, compared with 50 in 2024 and 29 in the year to March 2022, according to Home Office data.
According to estimates by the UN's International Organisation for Migration, a record 82 migrants including 14 children died in attempts to cross the Channel in 2024. Although, officials believe this is an underestimate with dozens more reported missing over the year. At least 12 have died so far this year.
Some 14,812 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year in more than 260 boats, up nearly 32 per cent on the same period last year. It represents a record high for the first six months of any year since the first boats arrived in 2018.
On Wednesday, dozens of migrants in small boats reached the UK as people smugglers took advantage of the first good weather and calmer seas since May 31 when a record 1,195 people were intercepted. It is expected to push crossings past 15,000 for 2025.
French police are currently preparing to intercept migrant boats at sea for the first time and have committed six new patrol boats to the naval forces that will serve to rescue migrants and target the 'taxi boats'.
The French interior ministry says it will aim to intercept boats within 300 metres of the beaches to stop them leaving for the UK loaded with migrants.
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 government sources said ministers overseeing migration policy had given the green light to do so while 'respecting' the 'law of the sea'.
The surge in crossings across the Channel come despite a drop in migrants coming into Europe from the east and the west.
The number of people coming into Europe via eastern Mediterranean routes fell by 30 per cent to 15,600 in the first five months of this year.
The number coming from western Africa was down 35 per cent to 11,065, while routes through the western Balkans dropped by 56 per cent to 4,055.
The biggest migrant route – across the central Mediterranean from Libya and northern Africa to Italy – remained constant, with an increase of seven per cent to 22,675. This was similar to the western Mediterranean into Spain route which saw a six per cent rise to 5,058.
Frontex attributed the decrease in the western African route to 'stronger border controls and migration policies in Mauritania, poor weather conditions, and enhanced cooperation between the EU and countries of departure.'
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: '15,000 illegal Channel crossings and its only June – 2025 is the worst year ever for small boat crossings so far.
'While traffickers and criminal gangs rake in millions, Labour Ministers stand in Westminster rehearsing soundbites. This is a total collapse of border control.
'How many more records does Keir Starmer need to break before he finally admits his plan is failing? He should never have scrapped the removals deterrent the previous Conservative Government put in place.
'Only the Conservatives have a serious, deliverable plan to end ECHR obstructions, introduce a binding annual cap on migration, implement measures to actually deter these crossings, and restore control of who comes into this country. Britain cannot wait any longer.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Lincolnshire Police chief constable Paul Gibson warns of job cuts
The chief constable of Lincolnshire Police has warned 400 staff and officer jobs could be cut if the force cannot secure extra funding by comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the government's Spending Review, which includes a 2.3% real terms yearly funding increase for policing in England and Constable Paul Gibson said this was not enough for Lincolnshire and would leave the force facing a deficit of almost £70m. He said he had begun negotiations with the Home Reeves told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme she did not "accept" the need for cuts to police jobs. Speaking during a hotseat with BBC Radio Lincolnshire presenter Frances Finn, Mr Gibson said the Home Office had recognised Lincolnshire as a "significant outlier" in terms of funding."If we don't get more money by October, then, unfortunately, I have to start consultation to reduce our organisation significantly," he Gibson said cuts to officer numbers could result in reductions to services that were "hugely important" to communities, including neighbourhood, roads and rural policing and crime prevention said: "I have to make sure that I balance the budget, and if I can't do that then I have to reduce resources, which obviously will be felt within the communities across our great county."The chief constable said he had a meeting planned with Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson for early July, and he would be "pitching for more money"."I'm as optimistic as I can be, but I can't guarantee money will come along," he April, Lincolnshire Police announced previous planned cuts to 400 jobs had been delayed due to a new £5.7m government funding speaking on BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Mr Gibson said this was "one-off money" to provide "stability" for six months. 'Working hard' A report by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue, released in May, rated Lincolnshire Police inadequate at investigating crime, responding to the public and managing offenders and Gibson said he appreciated the findings of the report would be "concerning" for residents, but he said funding had a "massive impact" on the level of service the force could said: "It's [the report] not as good as I wanted it to be, that's absolutely clear, and there's no doubt that there are things we need to do better. I completely accept that."We're working incredibly hard in the background to make sure we are investigating crimes better, supervising criminal investigations better, meeting the requirements of victims better." Caller Chris Fairweather, from Old Leake, near Boston, told the chief constable she had not been visited by officers after reporting a garage break in at her said tools and equipment had been stolen, but she had received a letter from police a week later to say the case had been Gibson said it was "just not possible" to visit the scene of every crime, and officers had to work out the likelihood of solving a said: "Finance, whether we like it or not, has a major impact upon what you're able to do, in terms of the quality of service you can deliver."Later in the discussion, Mr Gibson said: "I know that people are concerned about policing – they always want more, quite understandably."But I also need to make sure that I balance that with my staff, who are operating in difficult circumstances."They get assaulted quite frequently. I write to them, I speak to them, almost daily, in terms of someone who's been punched, kicked, spat at."The Home Office has been approached for comment. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Drug mule couple who claimed they were on ‘honeymoon' caught smuggling £99k worth of cannabis at UK airport
A COUPLE who claimed they were on their honeymoon were caught smuggling £99,000 worth of cannabis at a UK airport. Jeng Chow, 30, and Ley Wat, 25,were recruited as mules to carry the drugs for just £800 each in cash. The engaged pair had travelled from their native Malaysia with 28 vacuum-packed bags of cannabis stuffed in their cases. But they were stopped at Terminal 2 of Manchester Airport by Border Force officials. Chow and Wat shared a hug and kiss in the dock as they were jailed for a year and three months at Manchester Crown Court. They pleaded guilty to one count of being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a class B drug. Prosecutors said Wat was in debt when he and Chow were recruited by smugglers to bring the drugs to the UK. The couple were provided with the cannabis and promised cash following a successful handover. They left Malaysia on April 16 and flew via Qatar before landing at Manchester. After they were caught with the drugs, Chow and Wat claimed they had travelled to the UK for their honeymoon. The court heard the drugs were worth £99,000 at wholesale prices but the street value would have been "much higher". When she was interviewed by police, Wat told officers she believed her suitcase contained alcohol. She also revealed she and Chow were in contact with a third party and that someone was going to pick up the drugs at the airport in exchange for money. The couple will be deported back to Malaysia once their sentences have been carried out. Their sentencing comes amid a spate of similar drug mule cases - with around 13 Brits currently kept in hellhole jails abroad. Three Brits are facing the death penalty in Bali accused of trafficking more than £300,000 worth of cocaine onto the island. A Brit couple were charged with smuggling £1million of cannabis from Thailand a mere few days ago. While several young women have been arrested trying to smuggle cannabis from Thailand. 2
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Harvard researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos faces detention hearing
A Russian-born scientist and Harvard University researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos into the United States faces a detention hearing in Massachusetts on Thursday. Kseniia Petrova, 30, has been in federal custody since February and is seeking to be released. Petrova was returning from a vacation in France, where she had stopped at a lab specializing in splicing superfine sections of frog embryos and obtained a package of samples for research. She was later questioned about the samples while passing through a U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint at Boston Logan International Airport. She told The Associated Press in an interview in April that she did not realize the items needed to be declared and was not trying to sneak anything into the country. After an interrogation, Petrova was told her visa was being canceled. Petrova was briefly detained by immigration officials in Vermont, where she filed a petition seeking her release. She was later sent to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility facility in Louisiana. The Department of Homeland Security had said in a statement on the social media platform X that Petrova was detained after 'lying to federal officers about carrying substances into the country.' They allege that messages on her phone 'revealed she planned to smuggle the materials through customs without declaring them.' In May, Petrova was charged with smuggling in Massachusetts as a federal judge in Vermont set the hearing date on her petition. That judge later ruled that the immigration officers' actions were unlawful, that Petrova didn't present a danger, and that the embryos were nonliving, nonhazardous and 'posed a threat to no one.' The judge released Petrova from ICE custody, but she remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service on the smuggling charge. Colleagues and academics have testified on Petrova's behalf, saying she is doing valuable research to advance cures for cancer.
