Albanian ‘who smuggled people into UK’ says Gov could stop crossings

An Albanian gang member who smuggled people into Britain has claimed the Government could stop the crossings tomorrow but does not want to. 

The people smuggler said he thought Labour is not stopping small boats from crossing the Channel because it bolsters the country’s workforce. 

The man, who would only speak if he could remain anonymous, told the Daily Express: ‘I don’t believe the UK lacks the means to stop this type of thing from happening.’

It would be easy, he claimed, to stop the boats leaving France as they all depart from just two or three spots on the French coastline, taking known, trackable routes.  

He admitted to earning around £400,000 from hundreds of people in desperation by sending them on dinghies to this country, before he quit the trade earlier this year.  

But the people smuggler also dubbed the current series of anti-migrant protests outside British hotels housing asylum seekers ‘laughable’. 

This was because, he said, most of the passengers he sees are just ‘hopeless’ young people, willing to put themselves at risk in search of a better life. 

‘I don’t think a woman with a toddler can be considered a criminal’, he reflected, adding migrants are not Britain’s ‘main problem’ in the way many think they are. 

Around 50,000 small boats have arrived in the UK since Labour entered Government in July last year. 

And the Home Office this month announced measures to ‘crack down’ on social media promoting illegal passage from France to the UK. 

But the gang member doubted this would succeed as most people smugglers, including him, he said, are based outside British jurisdiction.

In fact, he said it was nearly impossible for this to work as those involved in the business would not have gotten into it if they felt bound by or feared the law.

The man himself used to advertise his services via social media – which is an offence and one now set to be met in this country with a serious sentence. 

And he said it is extremely difficult to catch or track such efforts, with fake addresses and phone numbers easily bought on the black market for regularly changing. 

Closing down a particular mode or platform for communication he thought would not work as the trade would simply regenerate elsewhere. 

The people smuggler was also not convinced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s long-running claim ‘smashing’ gangs such as his would stop small boat arrivals. 

This is because more than one country, he said, needs to be involved in order to solve this.  

He ventured an explanation as to why migrants are attracted to the UK, saying if it was ‘the perfect country’, he said, people would not come there. 

But the approach pursued by the British government, he said, has left ‘big gaps’ for illegal migrants to fill, also in terms of working here undocumented. 

It is known, for example, he felt, that many Albanians in the UK work in sectors like construction without full paperwork. 

The man said back in his native Albania, people smuggling was not seen as a negative, criminal endeavour. 

‘We are perceived as people enabling a path of hope, even though the journey has risks’, he said. 

There have been widely publicised reports of passengers drowning during small boat crossings, he said, but people still do it, showing the extent of their desperation. 

The Home Office asked for the details of the people smuggler but he only spoke if he would be able to remain anonymous. 

A spokesperson previously said, when asked about the man’s remarks: ‘This government has already taken decisive action to dismantle organised smuggling operations – securing the arrests of major trafficking ringleaders across Europe. 

‘In addition to launching Border Security Command, we have enhanced the operational strength of the National Crime Agency and Immigration Enforcement. 

‘Within the NCA alone this has already helped to produce a 40 per cent increase in disruptions of organised immigration crime networks in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24.’

It comes after small boat crossings under Labour surpassed the 50,000 mark earlier this month, equivalent to one migrant arriving every 11 minutes. 

On August 11, 474 people illegally entered the UK in eight small boats, taking the total number of migrants to have crossed the Channel since Labour came to power to 50,271 people. 

Critics of the Prime Minister’s ‘smash the gangs’ strategy have long insisted it will not work without a deterrent for migrants themselves. 

Sir Keir reached the 50,000 figure seven months faster than his predecessor, the Conservative Party’s Rishi Sunak. 

The Labour leader scrapped the ex-PM’s Rwanda scheme to send asylum seekers there to have their claims processed as one of his first acts in office. 

Only a handful of migrants had gone to the central African country voluntarily under the policy which Home Secretary Yvette Cooper claimed the Tories spent £700million on.  

Asked about the passing of the 50,000 milestone, Labour education minister Baroness Jacqui Smith of Malvern called it ‘unacceptable’ and the fault of the previous Conservative government. 

She told BBC Breakfast: ‘It is an unacceptable number of people. 

‘It sort of demonstrates the way over the last six or seven years that the criminal gangs have got an absolute foothold in the tragic trafficking of people across the Channel.’

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour’s promise to ‘smash the criminal boat gangs’ in its manifesto last year was ‘just a slogan’, with crossings now ‘so much worse’ than they were before last year’s vote.

‘Their one in, one out scheme isn’t going to work, and what we’re seeing is a lot of local communities having to pay the price and bear the brunt of the Government’s incompetence’, she continued.  

It came after Labour’s ‘one in, one out’ deal with France became operational earlier in the month. 

UK officials aim to make referrals for returns to France within three days of a migrant’s arrival by small boat, while French authorities will respond within 14 days.

An approved asylum seeker in France will be brought to the UK under a safe route as part of the exchange.

The Home Office was approached for comment about the people smuggler’s remarks.