A people smuggler who sends migrants across the Channel reveals how the illicit small boats trade really works
“The majority of smugglers lose their money on gambling, drugs and discos.”
Those are the words of someone involved in cross-Channel people smuggling.
In an exclusive interview with Sky News, they lifted the lid on how people make it to Britain on small boats.
In just a few days, the government is set to publish new laws aiming to stop small boats crossing the Channel, with illegal migration remaining one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s priorities.
In a wide-ranging discussion, the smuggler revealed how they avoid the police and what they make of the government’s Rwanda deportation plan.
They also disclose how most of those involved in taking people across the Channel end up in the UK themselves.
And they blame “mafia” groups for the deaths of more than 30 people who drowned while trying to cross the Channel in November 2021.
Here’s what else they told us about how these criminal gangs operate, in our full Q&A.
How would you describe your role?
It starts in the camps. The refugees are there – all nationalities from Kurds to Afghans, Albanians and Pakistanis – and so are the smugglers.
People get the smuggler’s name and make an agreement about where to meet. Passengers are sent on foot, by bus or car to the beach.
The smuggler waits for the equipment to arrive, it’s assembled, then people are put in boats and they set off.
Smugglers are just doing business, transferring people to the other side.
They work and make money. They are even helping people.
We see it as just another job, like working in a restaurant or a barbershop.
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What does it cost to get to Britain and what’s the process?
The first thing is the money. If someone has money, it’s easier.
If they don’t have money, the journey is more difficult and they’ll have to wait around.
If there are too many migrants, the prices go up. So it goes from €500 to €2,500.
If there aren’t enough people then the prices drop.
Different nationalities also affect the prices. For example, Albanians pay more, Pakistanis pay more.
How difficult do the French police make it?
Smugglers play hide and seek. If the police are there, they hide and wait till they have gone and then we do our job.
The police watch us, and we also watch the police. When they have gone, we do the job.
But if the police are there they disrupt our work and puncture the dinghy.
It’s becoming more difficult to avoid the police because the locations have now been identified.
In the past, it was just the trucks. The police now know from which points smugglers send people.
People have died going to Britain on small boats – would you put your family on a boat?
Yes, it’s normal. People take four days [to travel] from Greece to Italy. Compared to that trip, this journey is nothing.
People put their own family members in these dinghies – their wives, sisters and brothers.
Sometimes, they cross themselves.
Is smuggling a lucrative business?
Some people lose money.
An eight-metre dinghy costs around €1,000-€12,000. If the police come and tear it apart, that’s €12,000 down the drain.
Sometimes it happens twice, or the engine doesn’t work, or the dinghy is confiscated on its way.
But some also make a profit.
The majority of smugglers lose their money on gambling, drugs and discos.
Tell us more about smugglers and the UK.
Three-quarters of the smugglers are in Britain. The money they make, they invest in business there.
They live there, life is easier there. Regardless of their nationalities, three-quarters of the smugglers live in the UK and invest their money in business.
They are happier there. They rent houses under someone else’s name and drive cars without a licence.
They walk around London. They walk around Leeds, Birmingham and Newcastle.
They have made money, invested it there and have businesses.
They send people across the water and then they jump on the last boat and cross the water.
What about the UK government’s Rwanda plan – would that change anything?
I swear even if they send people to the Amazon, people will come to Britain – it’s their wish to go to Britain.
It will change a bit for some nationalities.
It will decrease but not to the extent that refugees won’t come to Britain.
People will still come.
Where do the boats come from?
In the past, people would go to Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium and would buy boats there. But that has decreased because it was discovered [by police].
So now people bring the boats from Turkey – they can buy them in bulk and it’s cheaper.
It costs around €3,500. So they buy five or six and send them to Germany by post, and then from Germany, cars transport them to France.
How did the deaths of 31 migrants in the Channel in 2021 make you feel?
Some of these guys [other people smugglers] have no conscience.
Even when the weather is not good, they are addicts and just want the money and to play with people’s lives.
People are desperate in the camps in the rain and cold, and with the police’s dawn raids.
If you tell the migrants “tonight is good”, everyone swarms around you and they don’t care. They don’t know about the weather.
Some of the smugglers are mafia, not smugglers, and do it only for the money. They know the weather is not good, but they still play with people’s lives.
The night of the incident was one of those nights.
The ones who did it were mafia – they have no heart.