Smugglers are raking in huge profits from the Channel migrant crisis (Image: Getty)
Migrant smugglers are raking in hundreds of millions of pounds every year despite Labour’s vow to “smash the gangs”.
Ministers and law enforcement chiefs from over 40 countries will on Monday use an Organised Immigration Crime Summit to bolster efforts to seize vast quantities of cash.
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Government officials believe the meeting will be an opportunity to expand “the follow the money strategy globally”.
Migrants and smugglers use an ancient payment system known as “Hawala”.
Migrants wade out into the water after a boat (Image: Getty)
The Channel migrant crisis is alarming ministers (Image: Getty)
This sees a third party pay a ‘handler’ in the migrants’ home country. This money is then held until the migrant arrives safely at their destination.
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The smuggler can collect his money from another handler in the country where he is operating. No physical money is ever transferred under this system.
But it effectively means criminals can move their profits across continents almost as quickly as regular bank transfers – without the scrutiny.
And the National Crime Agency believes “hawaladars” – the name given to the middlemen operating the system” – move “hundreds of millions” connected to smuggling migrants every year.
Hawaladars are being warned they are effectively helping criminals responsible for dozens of deaths every year, it is understood.
Officials will use the summit to urge the Chinese delegation to prevent flimsy inflatables leaving factories in the Communist country from reaching Turkey and then Europe.
The NCA has previously revealed how they have opened talks with Beijing about the Channel migrant trade.
And the Chinese decision to send a delegation to London is considered a welcome boost.
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Investigators believe that as they make it harder for criminals to buy cheap boats and engines from China, the organised networks will turn to placing bulk orders with legitimate companies.
The price of a boat and engine is now as high as ￡14,000 each, up from the “low thousands”.
But smugglers charge between ￡1,500 and ￡6,000, highlighting the vast profits smugglers make every year.
Officials have said some hoteliers in Northern France, hauliers, freight couriers and people promoting routes on social media are operating in a “grey area”, where they are effectively helping smugglers and organised crime gangs without actually committing a criminal offence.
And law enforcement wants these people to tip them off when they fear something is wrong, for example, requests for groups of people to hide in a garage, hotel or hostel.
The Express has reported how migrants are being offered luggage services and discounted hotel rooms before crossing the English Channel.
There is also evidence of asylum seekers being kept in Belgium, in safe houses near Brussels, Antwerp, Gent and Bruges.
Migrants are also known to regularly stay in Germany, with homes identified in Bonn, Cologne, Frankfurt, Essen, Dusseldorf, Bochum and Dortmund.
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They are given key pieces of information for their journeys and structures are put in place to ensure the smuggling business continues to run smoothly between crossings.
More than 6,600 migrants have crossed the Channel this year, heaping pressure on ministers to do more to stop the boats.
Channel arrivals are up 31 per cent since Labour came to power last summer, compared with the same period from 2023 to 2024 — despite the party’s election pledge to smash the criminal smuggling gangs.