Chinese companies are selling “refugee boats” and advertising them online to people smugglers, according a new report. Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce site, is hosting dozens of suppliers of “high-quality refugee boats” with assurances of fast delivery times to Europe.

The Telegraph

 reports it has seen multiple listings of refugee vessels with specific keywords in the advertisement headline, including countries typically travelled through by migrants on the way to the UK – Italy, Germany, Turkey, Morocco and Libya. One Chinese company, Weihai Yamar Outdoors Product Co, said they had many customers in Europe for “refugee boats”, according to the newspaper. Meanwhile, new figures reveal that 25% more migrants crossed the English Channel in 2024, and 2025 has seen a record number of people cross in the first four months of the year.

Hubei Jinlong New Materials, another Chinese supplier pushing “refugee inflatable rib boats”, states that Europe accounts for 25% of its business and is its main market.

Neville Blackwood, an international law enforcement specialist and former UK police officer, told the outlet: “Nobody seems to be in fear of arrest or prosecution. It’s business as usual on the Alibaba site.”

He added that the vessels advertised are “flimsy boats” with “engines that aren’t appropriate to set sail”. He went on to warn that “people could lose their lives”.

He said: “To advertise them is just wrong, it’s putting people’s lives at risk.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “We welcome this research from The Telegraph which highlights the complexity of disrupting global supply chains used by organised criminal networks. We have a strong intelligence picture and are aware of these supply chains.

“The National Crime Agency, working with partners, has seized more than 600 boats and engines in the last 18 months, and has taken down 18,000 posts, pages or accounts advertising organised immigration crime services.

“No single country can tackle this problem alone. Earlier this month the UK brought together representatives from more than 40 countries, including China, in an unprecedented international effort to dismantle and disrupt people smuggling operations.

“The Home Secretary also announced a further £33 million of funding going directly to high impact operations from the Border Security Command, specifically targeting supply chains, illicit finances, and trafficking routes across Europe, the Western Balkans, Asia, and Africa.”