Calais people smugglers 'more likely to be British'

Peter Allen12 April 2012

People smugglers arrested in Calais are increasingly likely to be British, new figures reveal today.

British gangsters are beginning to target the port town in northern France, charging rough sleepers up to £1,000 for an illegal passage to England. For years foreigners from Eastern Europe, central Asia and the Indian subcontinent dominated the trade.

"While foreign gangs are still very much at large, the British are increasingly profiting from getting illegal migrants into their own country," a French government source said.

Figures released by the country's immigration ministry today showed that 42 of the 235 people smugglers arrested in Calais over the first six months of this year were British - the largest European nationality group followed by 32 French, 20 Germans, and 50 from other EU countries. The rest were from countries including Ukraine, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Convictions were secured against just 50, mainly because of the failure of witnesses to testify. Many of those arrested were believed to be part of organised crime syndicates involved in cross-Channel drugs running and money laundering rackets. Last week it emerged that the number of migrants arrested trying to get into Britain illegally from Calais shot up by 76 per cent this year, to 13,715.

A French immigration ministry spokesman said: "Efforts are being made with British authorities to remove the problem of illegal immigration through Calais."

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