The Home Office began its crackdown on failed asylum seekers last week (Image: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
The Daily Express has revealed criminals are helping Channel migrants avoid one-way flights to Kigali by taking them to Dublin.
Asylum seekers camping in squalid conditions claimed UK-based criminals were charging up to ￡3,600 for passage from Belfast.
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And this newspaper can reveal that the National Crime Agency has identified that “facilitators” are “acting on behalf of OCGs”.
The 310-mile land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is the most popular route, with gangs exploiting virtually unguarded roads, intelligence suggests.
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Separate sources have also told this newspaper the Garda has increased checks on buses crossing the border.
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And they warned ferry crossings from ports such as Liverpool and Stranraer, Scotland, provide another route to escape the Rwanda deportation plan.
Facilitators often act as crucial conduits between the criminals and those hoping to cross the English Channel.
They often operate in migrant camps in Northern France or on social media.
The National Crime Agency confirmed: “Organised crime-enabled abuse of legitimate routes such as the common travel area (CTA) continues to pose a significant threat to the UK border and immigration system.
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“It is likely that a proportion of the irregular migrants claiming asylum in Ireland have entered via the land border with Northern Ireland on the instructions of facilitators acting on behalf of OCGs.
“The NCA leads the law enforcement response to the organised criminality involved in the trafficking and smuggling of people to the UK. We use the full suite of powers at our disposal to disrupt OCGs.
“We have seen before how OCGs evolve their tactics in response to law enforcement and government action. The NCA’s role is to continue to focus on the organised crime element involved and do all we can to disrupt and dismantle those criminal networks.”
Migrants have begun returning to a ‘tent city’ in the heart of Dublin just days after a huge clear-up operation.
Both sides of the city’s Grand Canal are lined by about 70 blue tarpaulin tents provided by charities for asylum seekers from countries including Nigeria and Afghanistan.
Last week the new Irish prime minister, Simon Harris, told the Dáil that “We do not want to live in a country where makeshift shantytowns are allowed to just develop.”
The authorities in Dublin are expected to provide more accommodation later this week to deal with the unprecedented numbers seeking international protection, some arriving from the UK.
Conservative MP David Jones said: “This simply underlines the extent of the criminal people-smuggling racket that is endangering lives.
“However, the Rwanda policy is clearly working as a deterrent. Its impact will be all the greater when flights start taking off.
“The message to would-be illegal migrants is clear: don’t risks your lives or waste your money. If you try to enter the UK illegally, you will be removed.”
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The Home Office last week confirmed it had begun detaining failed asylum seekers under “Operation Vector”.
Migrants in handcuffs were escorted to vans after raids on homes and hotels across the country, with more planned.
The first asylum seekers were detained on Monday, the Daily Express understands. The Home Office has refused to say how many people have been held. But women were among those detained in the first 48 hours, it is understood.
Officials have confirmed charter planes have been booked for the first flights, with an airport also on standby.
Immigration enforcement teams are set to fill up every allocated bed in the UK’s removal centres before the first flights.
Around 800 officers are taking part in the raids, it is understood, and the only people being held are those the Home Office thinks there is a reasonable chance of successfully deporting.
The Home Office has set aside a specific number – though it won’t say how many – of spaces within then detention estate for migrants set to board a one-way flight to Kigali.
Downing Street said the news that more than 2,000 migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats since the Safety of Rwanda Act became law is "precisely why" the Government is working to quickly start deportation flights.
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A No 10 spokeswoman told reporters: "It's precisely why we're working to get flights off the ground as soon as possible so we can start to have a deterrent effect and break the business model of the criminal gangs who continue to exploit people into making these incredibly dangerous journeys.
"Of course there is no one silver bullet and we will also continue to work with countries on tackling migration upstream, including with the French, to prevent more crossings and continue our enforcement activity that we already undertake.
"But fundamentally we do need the Rwanda partnership up and running to change the status quo."
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