Smugglers operating on the French coast have changed their methods as gangs are offering discounts for people to cross the Channel.
Gangs have changed their tactics to launch "taxi-boats" from more concealed sites, operating at a much quicker speed at cheaper rates for those desperate to cross to the UK.
Instead of inflating and launching from dunes along the French coast, gangs are starting from better hidden locations, often dozens of kilometres from the main departure beaches.
The vessels then cruise along the coastline, picking up customers who wait in waist-high waters where French police cannot stop them.
Downing Street said the situation is "deteriorating" as Albanian crime gangs are now offering Channel crossings for just £2,000 per person, the lowest price since 2002 in a "Summer discount."
A group of migrants waiting to cross
PA
Around 16,317 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, more than 40 per cent higher than at the same point last year and the record for any year since the first Channel arrivals in 2018.
In a post on a Facebook group aimed at Albanians, an advertisement said: "We have a journey on a small boat. Only £2000."
An Albanian immigration expert told The Telegraph: "The fall in price is due to a sharp decline in interest from Albanians using small boats.
"This is the cheapest offer ever, clearly aimed at attracting new clients. Last year, only 630 Albanians made the journey compared to 940 in 2023.
"Albanians are now avoiding small boat crossings, knowing they will be processed by the Home Office in Dover and likely sent to detention centres, with the aim of deportation."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The remains of a small boat on the beach in Gravelines, France
PA
Meanwhile, migrants from Africa told the BBC about the dangers of making their way to the so-called Taxi boats. Luna, a Somali woman from Mogadishu, said: "I've tried [to cross] 12 times now.
"Sometimes the police are very violent. I've been hit myself. They put tear gas, something in the air, you can't breathe. Sometimes the boat is very far [out to sea]. That's why women and children are left behind so many times. It's so dangerous, so risky. We cannot swim. I don't want to die."
Mayor of the village of Ambleteuse Stéphane Pinto added: "For migrants, the UK is still seen as an El Dorado. The British need to address this issue more forcefully.
"This is no longer just a problem linked to dictatorship or war. It is growing due to what's happening globally: climate change, the collapse of economies in some countries, and so on.
"We feel there is a new wave growing today, and unless we really tackle it, we will sadly only be spectators of what will happen in the coming years."
French police officers watch a group of people thought to be migrants board a small boat leaving the beach at Gravelines
PA
Earlier today, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has hit out at Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner over Labour's failure to tackle the UK's migration crisis.
Hitting out at Rayner during Prime Minister's Questions, Philp, the MP for Croydon South, said: "She has the brass neck to claim she's got it under control, when the numbers crossing the Channel this year are the highest in history.
"She asked about the Rwanda deterrent, I'll repeat, she obviously wasn't listening to what I said earlier, the Rwanda scheme never started."
Most Read
