Gang leaders, corrupt police officers and companies selling small boat equipment for Channel crossings will face sanctions in the Government's latest bid to "smash the gangs".
Those found to be aiding illegal migrants gain entry to Britain will soon be in line for a raft of new sanctions - including asset freezes and a total ban from the UK.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced on Tuesday the measures will be introduced to target "anyone" involved in fuelling the crisis.
This includes those involved in supplying and financing small boats and fake passports.
PA
|The measures will be introduced to target 'anyone' involved in fuelling the crisis
Elsewhere, "middlemen" putting cash through the "Hawala system", a global money transfer network commonly used in payments linked to Channel crossings, will be targeted.
The first wave of measures comes into force on Wednesday, and will publicly name anyone sanctioned.
As a result, it will be illegal for UK businesses and banks to deal with them.
The measure is expected to include more than 20 designations, and could include corrupt officials and police.
"For too long, criminal gangs have been lining their corrupt pockets and preying on the hopes of vulnerable people with impunity as they drive irregular migration to the UK. We will not accept this status quo," Lammy said.
"That's why the UK has created the world’s first sanctions regime targeted at gangs involved in people smuggling and driving irregular migration, as well as their enablers.
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"From tomorrow, those involved will face having their assets frozen, being shut off from the UK financial system and banned from travelling to the UK."
But just before the sanctions announcement, an unusual boat was caught ferrying migrants to the South Coast.
A yacht was intercepted off the coast of the Isle of Wight by the National Crime Agency (NCA) on Sunday.
The boat had travelled from northern France - and was then escorted into Gosport Marina in Hampshire by a Border Force cutter, the NCA said.
Two Ukrainian nationals, aged 43 and 37, whom were said to be crewing the yacht, were arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration.
GB NEWS | The first wave of measures comes into force on Wednesday in a bid to halt Britain's migrant crisis
Five passengers, including four Albanians and a Vietnamese national, were also arrested on suspicion of immigration offences.
All seven people remain in custody while they are being questioned by NCA investigators, the agency added.
The NCA's senior investigating officer Julian Harriman said: "This operation was part of an ongoing NCA investigation led jointly with French judicial authorities and Gendarmerie Nationale, which has been supported by Border Force.
"Tackling people-smuggling gangs remains a priority for both France and the United Kingdom and we are determined to do all we can to target, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved."