People smugglers are moving migrants from France to the UK by hiding them inside cars on ferries – before the stowaways jump into lorries on the vehicle deck mid-way through the voyage.
A former Border Force chief informed about the newly revealed smuggling method – illustrated today in a MailOnline graphic – described it as ‘really useful intelligence’ and said it may require improvements to security on ferries and at Dover.
Lorries were the most common route used by stowaways before tighter security around ports and the Channel Tunnel prompted smugglers to change their tactics to favour small boat crossings.
These have hit record levels this year, with 1,200 arriving by boat on Saturday alone.
Migrants stowing away in lorries typically board them in northern France before remaining hidden until the vehicle has entered Britain.
But the updated method, apparently pioneered by Albanian gangs, was described by one convicted people smuggler as ‘easy’ and ‘low risk’ because it only requires the smuggler to sneak their client onto the ferry inside the boot of their car.
Once the smuggler has got to the ferry’s car deck, the migrant jumps out of the vehicle and gets into a lorry, typically by slicing through the tarpaulin.
The smuggler then passes the lorry’s number plate to an associate in the UK who trails the vehicle after it leaves Dover and collects the migrant once it stops.
The lorry driver has no idea of their involvement, but risks being fined up to £10,000 if the stowaway is found in their vehicle by officials.
There is often a large amount of traffic at the Port of Calais, making it hard for officers to check every car
Ten suspected illegal migrants were discovered hiding in the back of a Spanish-registered lorry among crates of oranges on a motorway in Surrey in February
‘Nick’, a former British Army soldier who previously worked as a people smuggler for an Albanian gang, revealed the method on a new BBC podcast.
Cars go through the UK border at Calais and can be examined by Border Force officers, but given the amount of traffic it is impossible for them to check everyone, Tony Smith, who led the agency from 2012 to 2013, told Radio 4’s The Smuggler.
‘In terms of manual checks, can you imagine how that would work during busy summer ferry crossings? They’d be an outcry from the tourism industry,’ he said.
Meanwhile, lorries are checked for stowaways in Calais and then pre-cleared for entry to the UK, Mr Smith explained. This means the vehicles are unlikely to be reexamined at Dover.
Asked what Border Force could do about migrants getting into lorries mid-way through the Channel crossing itself, he replied: ‘Nothing. There’s nothing that Border Force could do about that because you’ve already been cleared for entry to the UK by the Border Force officer who examined your vehicle in France.
‘What happens onboard the ferry when you’re on the car deck is a matter for the ferry company, in terms of the security of the vehicles.
‘You are going to disrupt trade significantly if you say you are also going to stop and search everybody at Dover.
‘There are opportunities for us to divert lorries into sheds for secondary inspection if there is specific intelligence that the particular vehicle might be carrying prohibited or restricted goods for customs purposes.
This graph compares the number of migrants found trying to sneak into the UK on vehicles and those arriving by small boat
Migrants depart from the beach at Gravelines, northern France, on Saturday, on a day which witnessed the highest number of Channel arrivals in Dover for more than two and a half years
Just under 1,200 migrants reached Dover on Saturday – the fifth highest number on record – after departing from beaches at Gravelines, France, pictured
‘But the assumption of those officers in Dover, in terms of people smuggling, will be that the lorries have already been searched for people and there wouldn’t have been somebody inserting people into a lorry during passage.
‘So I think this is really useful intelligence of another form of mischief that might require us to look again at security at passage and at Dover.’
Nick, who did not provide his real name, said he was paid £3,500 by Albanian gangsters for every migrant he managed to bring in.
The Englishman was convicted and sent to prison in 2019, but said he wanted to speak out about the issue because he was jailed for a crime that was still possible to commit.
He claimed to be aware of people who had used the same routes and methods as him within the past year.
His testimony comes a month after a watchdog report warned officials were missing opportunities to intercept migrants reaching the UK on lorries.
The HM Inspectorate of Constabulary claimed the Government and NCA’s focus on Channel crossings could “lead to missed opportunities in other areas of immigration crime, such as clandestine vehicle entries”.
Around 5,000 ‘clandestine entrants’ were found last year at UK border controls in Calais, Coquelles and Dunkirk, according to a report by the immigration and borders watchdog. Inevitably, others would have managed to evade checks.
The Home Office’s Clandestine Entrant Civil Penalty Scheme handed out 1,276 fines worth nearly £10million in 2023/24 to drivers who were found with migrants hiding in their vehicles, either in northern France or after crossing into the UK.
Despite the continuing risk of smuggling by lorry, the overwhelming focus remains on small boat crossing, with stubbornly high arrival numbers proving an embarrassment for the Government.
Saturday witnessed 1,195 small boat arrivals – the fifth highest daily tally on record. It was also the first day to break the 1,000 barrier for more than two and a half years.
Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to ‘smash the gangs’ behind the crossings has prompted derision from critics, who point out the need for a deterrent to prevent migrants from wanting to make the crossing in the first place.
