- Saturday, April 20, 2024
All they have to do is to get fake EU identity documents and fly to Dublin from where people smugglers arrange their journey into the UK by taxis and ferries
By: Chandrashekar Bhat
While the government is grappling with the issue of migrants illegally crossing the English Channel, Albanians are sneaking into the UK via Ireland exploiting the porous border between the two countries.
All Albanians have to do to reach Britain is to get fake European Union identity documents and fly to Dublin from where a nexus of people smugglers arranges their journey into the UK by taxis and ferries, The Telegraph said.
At £2,500 per person plus £300 to £400 for fake ID proofs, the “secure” Ireland route is cheaper than the dangerous Channel crossing cost of up to £5,500.
Migrants were advised to “make a big noise” and claim asylum if they were challenged in Dublin and they would be let free “within 12 hours”, according to a gang organiser.
“Then the taxi arrives and you can get straightway to England,” he told an undercover reporter.
“You need to get a European fake ID so you can get easily to Dublin,” he said, adding, “we have the price of £2,500 from Dublin to England.”
He claimed the journey “is 100 per cent secure” and trips into the UK were staged “every day”.
Irish criminal gangs take advantage of the fact that passports are necessary to travel between the UK and Ireland.
Air and sea carriers say they require some form of identification, but documents are not always checked, the newspaper said.
An EU identity proof is enough to travel into Ireland though it is not part of the Schengen Area.
People smugglers push their messages on TikTok. One such message featuring an image of a taxi said, “Ireland England 100 per cent secure.” It also claimed, “No need to pass customs with a private taxi.”
The National Crime Agency said organised immigration crime was a chronic threat as the scale and complexity had evolved.
“We also work with partners including immigration enforcement, policing and overseas law enforcement, to support their investigations,” an NCA spokesperson told The Telegraph.
Even on the English Channel route, Albanians account for a majority of the migrants intercepted by the UK’s border security forces.
Some 25,000 migrants have crossed the Channel this year and between 50 and 60 per cent of them are Albanians, according to Home Office officials.
