“Despicable” people smugglers who “exploit vulnerable people” via social media face severe penalties, the Home Office has warned.
A gang spokesman said the gangs “promote and spread lies on social media.” [people] “In appalling conditions, working for next to nothing.”
They said the government is working with social media companies and authorities to remove online ads promoting dangerous small boat crossings.
Comments come after A Investigations Times found Smugglers were offering migrants “package deals” on TikTok to be smuggled into the UK.
The advertisements, mostly targeting Albanian immigrants, promise “specialists” to round up new arrivals, give them housing and find them jobs.
The ads also suggest they are taking advantage of the Christmas chaos at airports to sneak into the UK.
Sky News understands that the content has since been removed by TikTok and the app is working closely with law enforcement and industry partners to find and remove these types of videos.
In response, the Home Office said the UK had robust plans for the Christmas and New Year period.
It also indicated that arrests for illegal work increased by about a third compared to the same period last year, while forced returns increased by a quarter.
In an investigation conducted by Sky News last year, Europe correspondent Adam Parsons Exposing how people smuggling works, often starting with ads on social media sites like TikTok.
one The ad was removed earlier this year “We take people to the UK by speedboat,” he said in Albanian. “It was agreed within 45 minutes. The crossing is 100% guaranteed (safe).”
Since then, the National Crime Agency has intensified its efforts to disrupt gangs by using online platforms to recruit migrants to cross the Channel on small boats.
In July, it revealed ads showing people smugglers offering a 100% safety guarantee and a competition to win 500 euros, which were among about 12,000 ads the agency removed from social media.
One Albanian-language ad showing a picture of two speedboat outboard motors said: “We take people to the UK by speedboat. The deal was done within 45 minutes.”
“The crossing is 100% guaranteed (safe). Don’t get lost [this opportunity]. Soon we will be ready [to depart]. Write in private.”
On Friday, 305 migrants arrived in the UK on five small boats that crossed the English Channel.
It came after arrivals on small boats reached 150,000 on Boxing Day – seven years after the government started recording data in 2018.
Social media lawyer Yair Cohen told Sky National correspondent Tom Parmenter The government’s response to human trafficking has been “very poor” and its “presence on social media is very weak”.
“It’s very easy to blame social media platforms, and I agree with that, they have a role to play here, but at the same time, they are just a place and they are dealing with millions of posts,” he said.
He urged the government to use social media and advertisements to inform people about the dangers of human trafficking, as well as track down criminals who post their own advertisements by “following the money.”
Cohen said the ads should be paid for so the government can “very easily” find out who is paying for them.