2 days ago
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.'
