Ruthless people smugglers have nearly doubled the prices they charge desperate migrants to cross the English Channel on small boats amid a Europe-wide crackdown on organisers.
Migrants wishing to cross the Dover straits to the UK are now being asked to pay between £5,000 and £6,000.
This summer the cost was between £3,000 and £4,000 to make the treacherous voyage.
Experts say smugglers have raised prices as authorities in the UK and in Europe are cracking down on the illicit operations – including the supply of dinghies and outboard engines.
The fees are set by the gang networks and paid in advance either in the migrants’ country of origin or in other parts of Europe before they reach the French coast camps.
A source said: ‘The price has gone up purely due to market forces. They’re still not up to the prices we were seeing but it is a significant rise.
‘The price is set and paid normally in the country of origin or in other parts of Europe before they travel to the French coast.
‘They know if they do not succeed in the first attempt they will be able to keep trying.
A drone view shows an inflatable dinghy carrying migrants towards England in the Channel
A group of migrants waits for a boat they may be able to join to cross the English Channel
Authorities uncovered a large quantity of equipment used to aid migrant crossings from France to the UK during a related 2022 raid
‘People smuggling gangs are continuing to cash in on people’s misery and hope.’
Mike Jones, of Migrant Watch UK, said: ‘Migrant smugglers are hiking prices because the UK’s National Crime Agency teamed up with European law enforcement to crack down on the supply of dinghies, engines, and dirty money.
‘A lot of this effort was focused on Türkiye, where most of the small boats heading for the UK are cobbled together in backstreet workshops, fitted with outboard motors from China, and shipped via Germany to the French coast.
‘Disrupting the gangs is a welcome move, but now more migrants are crammed onto boats, making the journey even more dangerous. Governments can make life harder for the smugglers, but they’ll never ‘smash’ them.’
In August 2023, traffickers reportedly slashed their prices from £10,000 per person to £3,000 to 4,000 each after running out of wealthy people to bring across to the UK.
The difference in price was also understood to be dependent on whether a life-jacket is included in the cost.
A total of 33,562 in 623 boats have made the crossing so far this year with 2,901 in November alone.
At least 68 people are known to have died crossing the Channel this year – making it the deadliest on record.
The Labour government has made tackling small boats crossings a priority since it was elected in July.
As part of the Government’s plan to lower the high number of fatalities and ‘smash the gangs’, they are investing £75million per year in a new Border Security Command who have counter-terror style powers.
Their aim is to trace and prosecute people smugglers, who profit from the desperation of vulnerable people.
Equipment alleged to have been supplied to people smugglers operating the English Channel crossings
Hundreds of life vests were included in the seizure made by authorities back in 2022
It is understood that smugglers are now raising the cost to cross the English Channel
It’s hoped the new command will strengthen the UK’s global partnerships and enhance efforts to investigate, arrest and prosecute these evil criminals.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
‘As we have seen with so many recent devastating tragedies in the Channel, the people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.
‘We are making progress, bolstering our personnel numbers in the UK and abroad. Our new Border Security Command will strengthen our global partnerships and enhance our efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute these evil criminals.’
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