Kurdish criminals set sights on lucrative English Channel migrant trade

National Crime Agency says thousands of pounds can be made in one journey

Migrants in a dinghy wearing life jackets cross the English Channel from France to try to enter Britain illegally. AFP

They left northern France to cross the English Channel -- which is 33,8 km at the closest point in the Straits of Dover -- in small inflatable boats. AFP

Walid, 29, a Kuwaiti migrant, makes a phone call at a tent at a makeshift migrants camp in Dunkirk. AFP

Falah, an Iraqi migrant kisses his daughter Arwa after getting her ready to be smuggled into Britain. AFP

Yaser, 42, a migrant from Iraq, walks on railway tracks in Dunkirk. AFP

Falah holds insulin injections for his diabetic daughter. AFP

Migrants walk back to their makeshift camp in the outskirts of Calais. AFP

Izhar, a 16-year-old migrant from Pakistan, lies down in his small tent . AFP

A French military ship shines light searching for migrant boats. AFP

Walid (3rd left) was found in the channel and brougt ashore on the DHB Dauntless tug boat. AFP

Walid (centre), reaches the UK. AFP

Falah washes clothes in a river on France. AFP

A migrant wears a t-shirt with the British flag at a makeshift camp in the outskirts of Calais. AFP

Kurdish organised crime groups are turning their sights to the trafficking of migrants across the English Channel, a top official from the UK's National Crime Agency said.

Miles Bonfield, head of organised immigration crime operations, said that efforts to smuggle people across the stretch of water between France and south-east England had increased during the Covid-19 pandemic as traditional travel links shut down.

"The overall threat to the UK around organised immigration crime has reduced but we have seen a massive increase in relation to small boats," he told The Telegraph. "You should not underestimate the scale and complexity of this threat and the challenge that faces us in tackling this.

“We are seeing more Kurdish organised crime groups being involved in this trafficking. We are seeing more west Balkans organised crime groups. Sadly, we have seen more Sudanese nationals involved in more chaotic self-generated attempts not facilitated by organised crime groups.”

The gangs from the West Balkans were typically made up of ethnic Albanians who were also involved in the drugs, money laundering and firearms trade, Mr Bonfield said.

He said criminal groups were increasingly turning their attention to smuggling migrants because of the huge amounts of money that could be made.

A recent trafficking attempt by an Afghan gang stopped in a joint French-UK effort charged each person up to £2,500 ($3,474) for one of the 15 places on the boat – which costs about £3,000 to buy.

“The profits that are made depend on the cost and outlay and the charging prices that they are making to individuals. It does make it a very, very profitable route,” Mr Bonfield said.

“We should not underestimate their two motivations – profit, and power and influence,” he said.

More than 8,400 made the treacherous journey across the Channel in 2020, up from fewer than 2,000 in 2019.

Mr Bonfield revealed that NCA officials were often at loggerheads with social media companies, who were not doing enough to stop smuggling operations being advertised online.

"We are clear that they need to do more in relation to this," Mr Bonfield said. "They should be able to use their engineering and technical skills to make their platforms harder for criminals to use for their criminal business that results in people risking their lives."