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A BBC investigation has uncovered that people smugglers are instructing migrants to pay for illegal Channel crossings through a network of businesses registered in the UK. Undercover filming at a mobile phone shop in south-east London revealed employees telling a researcher posing as a migrant’s relative that nearly £3,000 could be deposited and then forwarded to a smuggler in France. One shop worker said, “You put your money here. If your friends reach [the UK], you shouldn’t come back.”
The three-month inquiry sheds light on a method whereby smugglers use UK company bank accounts to process payments for small-boat journeys across the Channel. Tom Keatinge from the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) described the smugglers’ approach as having a “brazen attitude,” noting it is worrying how openly these operations appear to function. Besides the phone shop, a smuggler in France provided bank details for two other UK businesses – a wholesale firm in Newcastle upon Tyne and a car wash in Cambridgeshire – as options for electronic transfers linked to migrant crossings. Additionally, he named several European businesses where migrants could pay cash, including a car wash in Antwerp and a restaurant in Paris.
The BBC sent an undercover researcher to a migrant camp near Dunkirk, known as “the jungle,” where many await a chance to cross the Channel. The camp was flooded due to recent rain during the visit. Shortly after entering, the researcher was approached by men seemingly soliciting for different smuggling gangs and connected with two particular smugglers. One, who called himself Zia, mentioned that money exchange shops in the UK could accept crossing payments without issuing receipts and that once the money was secured, it would be transferred to him after the crossing. Another smuggler, Ahmad, operating out of northern France for over five years, gave the researcher details of three UK businesses able to process payments, including the Woolwich phone shop. Ahmad specified the crossing would cost £2,700 for two people.
Back in the UK, undercover visits to the Woolwich phone shop recorded interactions with two employees. One explained that money was only passed on to smugglers after a successful crossing, adding, “If your people do not cross, if he tells me to return your money back to you, I’ll do it.” However, he acknowledged the risks involved: “You can’t count on boats, you never know, God forbid the boat sinks, and all of them [drown].” When confronted later, the shop worker denied involvement in handling smuggling payments, stating, “We don’t move money… we have only phone shop.” The businesses linked to the bank accounts are officially registered with Companies House. Ahmad’s bank details for the Newcastle and Cambridgeshire firms checked out as genuine.
The investigation points to smugglers feeling unaffected by government attempts to dismantle their operations. Keatinge, founding director of Rusi’s Centre for Finance and Security, highlighted how the government prioritizes breaking the smuggling business model, yet authorities have struggled to recover the millions generated annually. In one recent case involving two jailed smugglers in Cardiff, the National Crime Agency (NCA) reported minimal UK assets since most profits were sent abroad. Since 2020, confiscation orders against convicted smugglers totalled £2.9 million on over £16 million identified as criminal gains, with only £1.6 million recovered so far. The Crown Prosecution Service notes these criminals are motivated solely by profit and strives to seize their earnings where possible, though only assets available at the time of investigation can be confiscated.
Ahmad denied involvement in smuggling during phone calls with the undercover reporter, while Zia did not respond to repeated interview requests. The Newcastle wholesale business rejected any suggestion of facilitating criminal activity and pledged full cooperation with investigators. A Cambridgeshire car wash declined to comment. The NCA deputy director, Dan Cannatella-Barcroft, emphasized that combating the criminal networks remains a top priority, with about 100 active investigations into major gang members ongoing. He added, “We are in no doubt that we are making the UK a more difficult place for them to target and operate in.” Migration minister Mike Tapp MP acknowledged substantial investigative efforts behind the scenes, particularly around money transfers, though he declined to provide specific details about the companies featured in the investigation. Tapp stressed how criminal operations continually adapt, and it is crucial for authorities to keep pace with these developments
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