People smugglers are conducting ‘organised exploitation’ as they charge up to 3,000 euros (£2,600) per person for dangerous crossings across the English Channel, intelligence reports show.
The traffickers are offering various payment options and even drugging children before the journeys in order to make them more co-operative in packed boats, the evidence suggests.
Fares for the small boat crossings from northern France to the south coast of England are said to be based on feasibility and whether the customer is an individual or a family group.
Another factor is whether one or several attempts are made, according to European Union intelligence.
Further evidence of the callous tactics used by the gangs was revealed by the Solicitor General yesterday, as she said children are being sedated before the crossings.
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Lucy Rigby’s words tallied with evidence from Frontex, the European Union border management agency, which said the people smuggling gangs ‘treat human lives as cargo’.
Spokesperson Chris Borowski told Metro: ‘Crossing the Channel in a small boat costs between 2,500 and 3,000 euros.
‘The fares can vary based on the feasibility of crossings, if paying individually or per family group, and if the fares include one or several attempts per fee.
‘Smugglers promise a safe journey but deliver danger on an inflatable dinghy. It’s a business built on false hope and high risk.’
Border crossings over the Channel classed as ‘irregular’ increased by 26% between January and July this year, Frontex data shows.
In total, 41,756 ‘exits’ towards the UK were detected.
Reasons for the increase given by the border and coast guard agency include the traffickers launching ‘taxi boats’, which set off from secluded locations rather than floating from dunes in sight of French police.
Passengers wade into the water to be picked up.
At the same time, the average number on small boats has risen to nearly 60, with some carrying 100, according to Frontex.
‘Favourable’ weather was also cited as a reason for the increase.
The top nationalities making the perilious crossing are Eritrean, Somalian and Afghan, according to the agency.
Mr Borowski said: ‘We’re now seeing so-called “taxi boats” picking people up directly from the water’s edge, and smugglers are launching multiple boats at once to try and overwhelm patrols.
‘This is not migration by coincidence. It is organised exploitation.
‘Smugglers treat human lives as cargo.’
The Solicitor General said she had been warned by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that the gangs were attempting to make the children more co-operative before journeys.
‘I’ve heard from CPS prosecutors about the deplorable actions that these smugglers take,’ Ms Rigby said.
‘Not only facilitating very young children being aboard the boats, but even sedating them to ensure that they are compliant during the crossing.’
A CPS spokesperson told Metro: ‘We’ve received intelligence that children are sometimes being sedated before they are taken on life-threatening journeys across international waters.
‘We will not hesitate to prosecute people smugglers and continue to work with our partners at home and abroad to bring them to justice.’
More than 29,000 migrants have made the crossing from the start of year to August, Home Office figures show. The figure represents a rise of around 8,000 people on the same period last year.
The government’s attempts to stem the flow have included new action with France, with the headline initiative being a ‘one-in, one-out’ scheme.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘People smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay.
‘This government is implementing a serious and comprehensive plan to break the business model of the gangs and last year the National Crime Agency increased disruptions of immigration crime networks by over 40%.
‘We have also increased our cooperation with France to prevent small boat crossings, disrupt the supply chains for boats and engines, and target the leading players in the trafficking operations stretching across Europe.
‘Our pilot scheme to detain and return small boat migrants back to France is now operational, and we are also working closely with the French authorities as they prepare to implement their new policy of intercepting taxi boats operating in shallow waters.’
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