Facial recognition drones are to be deployed in the Channel to catch migrant smugglers driving the small boats.
Military-grade cameras that can identify faces up to half a mile away are now being trialed by Border Force.
The radar-enabled technology will be able to spot targets even if they have altered their outfit or appearance.
Officers have reported that those piloting the boats change their clothes when they see British rescue vessels to blend in with passengers, or even shave at sea to make them more difficult to recognise.
Thus far, this has allowed many to avoid being caught.
The Home Office hopes the new strategy, first reported by The Times, will increase the number of prosecutions.
Smugglers can be convicted of assisting unlawful immigration – an offence that can carry a sentence of life imprisonment.
But the technology must undergo rigorous testing and review in order to overcome practical and legal hurdles before being rolled out.
It comes after Shabana Mahmood signed a two-month extension deal for French cops to stop small boats
Dangerous crossings in the Channel have increased over the past three years, with 41,472 people arriving in the UK by small boat in 2025
The facial-recognition drones are the latest initiative from the Home Office in its battle to drive down the number of crossings.
So far this year, 4,766 migrants have made the journey across the channel, which is down 28 percent on the same period last year.
Last week, two people died and three were injured when hundreds of migrants tried to pile onto a rubber dinghy bound for Dover from France’s shore.
Smugglers took advantage of the improved weather in northern France to launch at least five boats following a week of zero crossings.
The Daily Mail witnessed around 50 migrants sprint across Gravelines Beach to the water after spending the night hiding in the dunes, when it visited last week.
They took off their coats, socks and shoes before pulling up their trousers and donning life vests as they waited for the smugglers to come round with the boat.
The large group – made up mostly of Arab and African men – were followed by eight police officers who stood by, filming on their phones.
In a sign that smugglers do not enjoy complete free reign, two Vietnamese nationals were last week week jailed for more than a decade after they raked in an estimated £750,000 from advertising illegal Channel crossings on Facebook.
A collection of inflatable dinghies in Dover last year, believed to have been used to carry migrants across the Channel
Hoang Nguyen (left) received 10 years and six months, while Hop Nguyen received 12 years, both for assisting unlawful immigration
Hop Can Nguyen, 46, and Hoang My Tra Nguyen, 25, helped traffic at least 250 migrants into the UK – offering journeys costing up to £18,000 – before disappearing from Home Office accommodation.
The pair, who arrived in Britain themselves by small boat, were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court after admitting assisting unlawful immigration between January 2023 and April 2024.
But there are fears of a summer spike in arrivals, after the UK failed to renew a three-year deal to pay for French beach patrols.
Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, agreed last week to extend the current deal by two months until the end of May.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘This government is restoring order and control to our border. This includes utilising technology to improve and accelerate our work.
‘The Home Secretary has announced the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in modern times, removing the incentives that bring illegal migrants to the UK and scaling up the return of those with no right to be here.’
