UK-registered firms linked to payments for small-boat crossings, BBC finds
Summary
A BBC investigation found that people smugglers are using UK-registered businesses to receive payments for illegal boat crossings of the English Channel. Migrants and their families can pay cash or electronic transfers via these businesses, which include shops and car washes, to arrange the risky crossings from France to the UK.Key Facts
- People smugglers direct migrants to pay nearly £3,000 for Channel crossings through UK companies’ bank accounts.
- A south-east London phone shop was secretly filmed offering to handle cash payments for smugglers.
- Smugglers provide details of UK businesses and European companies to receive payments for crossings.
- A smuggler named Ahmad, operating from northern France, listed three UK businesses for payment, including a Woolwich phone shop.
- Migrants live in camps near the Channel, such as one in Dunkirk called "the jungle," where smugglers approach them.
- Smugglers told undercover researchers that payments would be transferred to them only after a successful crossing.
- Some UK businesses mentioned include a wholesale company in Newcastle and a car wash in Cambridgeshire.
- Experts say the use of UK businesses for such payments is unusual and reflects smugglers' confidence operating openly.
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