ILLEGAL immigrants who smuggled themselves into Britain in the back of a truck were arrested yesterday — the latest seized amid a shock rise in people hiding in lorries.
In the past year, the number of illegal stowaways caught in HGVs at Channel ports has leapt by nearly a quarter.
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Until 2018 this was the main method employed by migrants desperate to reach the UK. Since then, small boat crossings have boomed.
Yesterday, 13 migrants jumped from the back of a lorry and made a run for it at a Sainsbury’s distribution centre in Charlton, South East London.
Police were called at 8am and arrested nine men in relation to immigration offences. They were taken into custody for questioning.
Four others underwent an age assessment which later proved they were over 18.
The Met Police said inquiries are ongoing.
It is understood the migrants had sneaked into the back of an HGV travelling from Spain.
Exclusive photos obtained by The Sun show the group outside the distribution centre after trying to flee.
A trucker who saw the drama said: “A few of us were standing around the yard when a driver from an outside company delivering goods from Spain came in.
“He parked, opened the back door of his lorry up, and out came around a dozen immigrants.
“They started running around the yard trying to get out, but they didn’t get very far.
“Someone from the office noticed and the managers came out and were trying to contain them all.
“I don’t think the lorry driver had a clue they were in his vehicle.
“It took everyone by surprise.”
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A spokesman for Wincanton, which operates the distribution centre, said: “We are co-operating with the police and cannot comment further due to the ongoing investigation.”
There has been a sharp rise in attempted illegal lorry crossings in the past year.
Figures show 5,874 migrants were detected at ports on the continent, including Calais, Dunkirk and the Channel Tunnel in Coquelles.
That is a 22 per cent rise compared with the 4,794 caught in 2023.
While migrants crossing the Channel are easily recorded, lorry stowaways may reach the UK undetected.
But the method is fraught with danger.
In 2019, the bodies of 39 Vietnamese migrants were discovered in a trailer in Grays, Essex.
They had suffocated during the journey from Belgium.
And last year, ferry staff discovered seven Vietnamese migrants crammed inside a tiny compartment in a van at Newhaven, East Sussex.
More than 44,000 people are known to have arrived in the UK illegally last year — by small boat, in the back of lorries, using fake documents and hiding in car boots.
Small boat arrivals made up 86 per cent in the year to March, totalling 38,023.
Another 2,585 were found within 72 hours of sneaking into Britain via other methods. Home Office data shows most were from Sudan, followed by Iran and Iraq.
Some 3,240 were stopped by Border Force at British airports trying to use fake passports and documents.
But the number caught at our ports has fallen by 74 per cent since 2018 as small boat crossings have risen.
In the year to March, only 277 migrants were detected.
Since 2018, more than two thirds of irregular arrivals have been men above the age of 18.
Meanwhile, frontline officers warn criminals will exploit budget cuts to Border Force.
The department is among those expected to bear the brunt of savings in the Government’s spending review next month.
One insider told The Times that a reduction in frontline staff would be a “threat to national security”.
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MIGRANT’S DOG WAS A TOY BREED
By Jack Elsom
A DOG brought across the Channel by its migrant owner this year was a tiny chihuahua — not a hulking German shepherd.
Government officials — investigating the case after it was revealed by The Sun, inset — were told the pet could even have a future as a Border Force dog.
But the Home Office has now found it was a pooch of the kind popularised by celebs such as Paris Hilton.
It is one of five dogs now known to have entered the UK by small dinghy with illegal migrants.
The other four were a mixed breed, Jack Russell, pomeranian and Yorkshire terrier.
While Britain provides accommodation and food to illegal migrants, we do not have to put up their dogs.
Instead, they are placed in quarantine for up to four months. If the owner cannot or will not pay the fees, the dogs are rehomed.
The Home Office insisted yesterday: “Great Britain has one of the toughest pet border-checking regimes in the world.
“We are committed to preserving the UK’s high standards of biosecurity and animal welfare.”
