It has come to light that more than 5,000 Albanians have crossed the English Channel by small boat this year, including more than half of yesterday’s 600 arrivals.
David Barrett of the Mail+ claims that Albanian drug lords are sending so-called “cleanskins” to the United Kingdom to join organized crime gangs.
And checks on Channel arrivals are failing to identify linkages between some migrants and human traffickers in the Balkans, according to credible sources.
In order to recover debts owed to people smugglers, it is anticipated that migrants with no criminal history would be enticed into serious crime, such as drug gangs.
‘Cleanskins’ is a word that was initially used by security services in Northern Ireland during The Troubles to describe the recruiting of terrorists with no criminal history by the IRA and Loyalist paramilitaries.
More than 21,000 migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year, according to official government statistics.
The Mail on Sunday revealed last week that 1,075 Albanians landed in tiny boats during a six-week period in June and July, representing nearly a quarter of the total for the period.
According to the source, a high proportion of Albanian immigrants commit crimes, creating a’revolving door’ effect in British prisons.
A pact with Albania, struck by Priti Patel in July 2021, has resulted in a surge in the number of criminals deported home, with the Home Office currently chartering one removals flight to Tirana per week.
However, the influx across the Channel greatly outnumbers those being withdrawn. It is believed that the National Crime Agency is collaborating with local Albanian authorities to prevent people from entering the United Kingdom and is cracking down on smuggling networks.
An insider noted that reforms to the Modern Slavery Act of 2015 were close but were delayed owing to the Tory leadership race.
Miss Patel has also hired a distinguished QC, Harish Salve, to conduct a comprehensive review of the law.
Official statistics revealed last week that between April and June, Albanians filed the most allegations of modern slavery, with 1,130 claims. On Saturday, 607 migrants arrived at Dover, bringing this year’s total to 20,017, according to figures released by the Ministry of Defense yesterday. Last year at this time, the number was little over 11,300.
In 2022, a total of 21,058 individuals made the dangerous crossing of the 21-mile Dover Strait, nearly double the 11,599 who had arrived on British territory at the same time the previous year.
Border Force agents intercepted a record-breaking 4,659 migrants at sea in August alone, setting a new monthly high for the year.
The biggest day of 2022 occurred on August 1, when 696 individuals arrived in the United Kingdom aboard 14 vessels, with an average of 50 passengers per vessel.
This was shortly followed by 606 persons crossing the Channel in inflatable dinghies and other small craft on Wednesday, August 17th.
Despite the heavy winds at sea, crossings began in the wee hours of the morning and continued all day.
At 10 a.m., the Border Force catamaran Typhoon delivered at least eighty individuals into Dover, Kent.
Soldiers clothed in camouflage fatigues led the predominantly male group along the gangplank.
Among them were a girl and boy in elementary school, both wrapped in blue blankets, and a newborn wearing a blue life jacket adorned with sea creatures.
Approximately one hour later, the Border Force cutter Hurricane arrived at the port bringing dozens of other migrants.
A few women and children were the first to be assisted from the ship, followed by a handful of young men.
At approximately 2.30 p.m., Border Force vessel Volunteer escorted another batch of migrants to port.
Border Force personnel removed their life jackets before to escorting them onto a coach for processing by British authorities.
At 5 p.m., the Border Patrol vessel Ranger apprehended an additional 50 persons. Among them were a young woman holding a newborn infant wrapped in a blue blanket and an elderly guy who had to be pushed up the gangway in a wheelchair. As he disembarked from the vessel, an adolescent was spotted laughing and making a victory sign with his hand in the opposite direction. On Wednesday, the French coastguard also apprehended over one hundred individuals in the English Channel.
The regional operating and surveillance center (CROSS) in Griz-Nez spotted multiple boats in distress in the Calais Straits.
It tasked the French Navy vessel Flamant with rescuing 62 trapped individuals and transporting them to the Dunkirk port.
The French Navy tug Abeilla Normandie was entrusted with rescuing 39 migrants and transporting them to Boulogne-sur-Mer.
They were cared for by the departmental fire and rescue service and the border patrol once they arrived at the dock.
A government spokesman stated, “The increase of hazardous Channel crossings is unacceptable.”
“Not only are they a blatant violation of our immigration regulations, but they also endanger lives and impede our capacity to assist refugees who enter the United Kingdom via safe and legal channels.
“The Nationality and Borders Act will allow us to crack down on system abuse and criminal people smugglers, who will now face a potential term of life in jail.
“Under our new Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda, we are continue to make plans to relocate those who are making risky, unnecessary, and unlawful journeys to the United Kingdom in order to have their claims reviewed and rebuild their lives.”