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The recent rise in migrant boat crossings between France and the UK is being fuelled in part by the more sophisticated methods gangs are using to source the boats. The criminal gangs now control the production of inflatables, making it possible to dramatically increase profits.

The UK鈥檚 National Crime Agency鈥檚 head of Organised Crime, Paul Morris, has been investigating the profits generated from boat crossings: on one day alone last year - August 22nd - smugglers made 拢4.4 million from sourcing 27 small boats and transporting 1200 migrants from France to the UK.

鈥淚t's certainly true that the criminal networks have got their model now, and it appears that they actually now control the manufacture and construction of these boats. They are able to maximise their profits in the most streamlined way. It's not just a national problem, it鈥檚 an international one.鈥�

When the migrant Channel boat crossings first started, in 2018, Sue Mitchell and Rob Lawrie were alongside UK Government officials as they seized an assortment of dinghies: many were second hand. Today that makeshift supply chain has been replaced by a sophisticated business, which sees boats manufactured in Turkey and transported with ease across Europe.

It鈥檚 a big business and it鈥檚 enabled the gangs to rapidly expand the trade: larger boats are mass manufactured in Turkey and shipped straight to smugglers. The gangs are adept at staying under the radar and they exploit legal loopholes across Europe when it comes to the movement of boats
The NCA鈥檚 Paul Morris tells the programme that the supply of boats had been 鈥榠ndustrialised鈥� by organised criminal gangs. The mass production of badly made, poor quality boats is further compounded by engines and life vests that are unfit for use:

鈥淭he boats are really poor quality, they're being designed to take a maximum amount of people, up to 40 people on an inflatable vessel. They鈥檙e not fit for use as paddling pools, let alone going to sea. So, we鈥檝e grave concerns. There are real dangers for those individuals being exploited.鈥�

Alan Priddy, a Maritime Investigator, said Turkish companies offering to supply boats were buying them from China, where they are laser cut and flat packed. They are even supplied with heat guns and can be assembled in a matter of hours: 鈥淚t鈥檚 clear they鈥檙e supplied for migrant crossings.

鈥淭he ease with which this supply chain works is a key factor in the huge rise in migrant Channel crossings. It鈥檚 putting lives at risk and is costing the UK Government billions. The easiest way to slow it down is via the boats. If they didn鈥檛 have the boats, then they couldn鈥檛 make the profits they鈥檙e making or play with peoples鈥� lives.鈥�

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