According to government statistics, the number of migrants who have entered the UK in small boats this year has surpassed 13,100 after 248 more were stopped on Wednesday in the English Channel.
After 40 people successfully crossed the border on Tuesday, five boats carrying the remaining 248 migrants were seized on Wednesday.
On the Dungeness beach after sunset, a lifeboat landed one group ashore.
This brings the total number of boats officially registered so far this year to 13,103.
403 persons who attempted the 21-mile wide crossing had been apprehended by the authorities in just two days this week.
Government statistics show that 28,526 persons traveled in 2021, compared to 8,410 who arrived in 2020.
The number of persons who travel to the UK via small boats, both those who arrive safely and those who are detained by authorities before being brought to the country, is disclosed by the government on a daily basis.
According to government statistics provided yesterday, the UK Border Force brought over 30 individuals ashore on Tuesday (July 5), including numerous women and children who were carrying infants.
The most recent arrivals follow news that scores of people were detained in many raids around Europe on Tuesday as the National Crime Agency (NCA) joined the largest-ever international operation against small boat people smugglers.
Along with Operation Thoren in Europe, Operation Punjum, led by the NCA in Britain, was conducted to dismantle gangs allegedly charging migrants up to £3,500 apiece to transport them to the UK.
Up to 60 people have been crammed onto some of these boats at once.
Six people were seized by NCA investigators in London, including two who were held on suspicion of plotting to aid in illegal immigration.
A man and a woman were both seized on suspicion of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply, while two more men were arrested for immigration violations.
900 life jackets were discovered and 60 small boats, like dinghies, were located and recovered at one place alone, and arrests were also made in Germany, the Netherlands, and France.
135 boats, 45 outboard engines, and more than 1,200 life jackets were all seized as a result of the operation.
Migrant crossings are anticipated to rise this week as the weather forecast in the Channel improves, despite the most recent attempts to prevent traffickers, including the contentious idea to deport some who make the voyage to Rwanda.
A representative for the government declared: “The growth in risky Channel crossings is unacceptable.
They not only openly violate our immigration laws, but they also endanger lives and make it harder for us to assist refugees who enter the UK legally and safely.
With a maximum term of life in jail, the Nationality and Borders Act will allow us to crack down on system abuse and the nefarious people traffickers.
‘Under our new Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda, we are continuing our preparations to relocate those who are making dangerous, unnecessary, and illegal journeys into the UK in order for their claims to be considered and so that they can rebuild their lives,’ the statement reads.
“These arrests send a clear message to the criminal gangs who are preying on vulnerable people across Europe and beyond: we will stop at nothing to end your dirty trade, bring you to justice, and save lives,” said Home Secretary Priti Patel, who last night called on UK PM Boris Johnson to resign.
This extremely important operation demonstrates once again how hard the NCA and its foreign partners are working to break up people-smuggling networks.
These heartless people “see human lives as a commodity, and we will continue to work with our allies to ensure that they experience the full weight of our new, stronger laws intended to disrupt their business model and appropriately punish them for their heinous crimes.”
There will probably be more crossings before the week is done because warmer, calmer weather is predicted for the weekend.