Huge amounts of money are being paid for a method that’s less likely to be detected.
People smugglers have reportedly changed tack (Image: Getty)
Some Albanian migrants have reportedly ditched small boats in a change of tack as people smugglers try to evade detection. The gangs are using lorries to transport individuals and veiling their activities on social media by disguising their advertisements as news articles, the Times reports. Almost all migrants who make their way Britain via small boats are intercepted by UK Border Force boats and processed. Individual’s details are then registered and Albanians are removed back to their native country.
However, lots of those who arrive in the back of lorries are undetected by British authorities. This comes as a price, as the method is more expensive at £23,000 a pop. Ads on TikTok include a wider package that also includes work in organised crime groups on cannabis farms or taking part in burglaries. The targets of these have included Premier League footballers. TikTok has improved its ability to remove the adverts, but smugglers just activate new accounts and ask “customers” to message them on WhatsApp, where they can operate without detection.
READ MORE: Labour border chief labelled “pathetic” for only pledging to halve small boats
A ‘new agreement and approach’ was agreed with Albania in 2023 (Image: Getty)
An insider has revealed that the gangs changed the way they do things after the law was changed in 2023 categorising Albania as a safe country.
“Arriving on small boats means they will be sent to detention centres and in a matter of days deported back to Albania,” they said.
“They know that and to avoid any contact with the immigration authorities, they are using lorries.
“That has increased the price from £18,000 in 2023-24 to £23,000 currently.”
A TikTok account named shqipet_london published a number of ads in March. These have been removed.
One of them said: “Journey on the head of the lorry for all we are waiting in Brussels.
“We have a journey every day. Security 100 per cent with Polish and British lorry drivers.
“For the boys with problems [people wanted to wanted in the EU for alleged crimes], only one SMS to us. We are the first hand of this business.”
A different one read: “Tomorrow, space in a lorry for four people. Journey starts in the evening, who is ready to go to the UK?”
Kier Starmer recently hosted a Border Security Summit (Image: Getty)
Another wrote: “Book our place with us, do not deal with the middleman. We are first-hand on this business. Passage 100 per cent. Payment when you arrive in London.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said yesterday: “Criminal gangs have long exploited instability in the Western Balkans, parts of which have become a major transit route for irregular migration and serious organised crime.
“They are risking lives for profit and becoming increasingly violent in their determination to make as much money as possible.
“This diabolical, lawless trade of smuggling vulnerable people is completely unacceptable and we are determined to end it as we secure the UK’s borders under our Plan for Change.
“With the world becoming more dangerous and unpredictable, the Western Balkans is of critical importance to the UK and Europe’s collective security, and the UK remains committed to building resilience and stability in the region.”
