More than 4,000 Albanians have crossed the Channel this year as people-traffickers in the Balkans employ new tactics, sources say
- Over 4,000 Albanians migrants have crossed the Channel to Britain this year
- In one six-week period in June and July, 1,075 Albanians arrived in small boats
- The large figure is due to new tactics from trafficking gangs in the Balkans
More than 4,000 Albanians have reached Britain across the Channel so far this year, the Daily Mail can disclose.
Ministers fear the surge will push this year’s number of small boat arrivals far beyond the record 28,500 seen in 2021.
The unprecedented escalation in Albanian arrivals is due to new tactics by people-trafficking gangs in the Balkans and weaknesses in Britain’s ‘modern slavery’ laws, sources said.
Once they arrive in the UK, Albanians are claiming to have been trafficked or exploited, making it harder to remove them.
More than 4,000 Albanians have reached Britain across the Channel so far this year, as people-smuggling gangs in the Balkans reportedly offer a guaranteed passage in a way that other gangs aren’t
Official figures showed Albanians made up the largest group making modern slavery claims between April and June, with 1,130 applications (pictured: People smugglers are using TikTok to sell Channel crossings)
A source close to Home Secretary Priti Patel said: ‘This year we’ve had 4,000 people from Albania come over already.
‘We are seeing this increase from Albania because they pay more, and are guaranteed passage by the people-smugglers in the way that others aren’t. The people who come to the UK often attempt to thwart removal by making a claim under modern slavery laws.’
Yesterday it emerged that 20,000 Channel migrants have reached British soil this year, a milestone not reached last year until early November. It means Albanians have made up one in five of those crossing the Channel since the start of January.
In one six-week period in June and July, 1,075 Albanians arrived in small boats, almost one in four of the total for the period, The Mail on Sunday revealed last week.
A significant proportion of Albanian arrivals end up committing crimes, in a kind of ‘revolving door’ into UK prisons, the source added. A deal with Albania, signed by Miss Patel in July 2021, has led to a rise in the number of criminals sent home, with the Home Office currently chartering one removals flight to Tirana each week.
The National Crime Agency has started working with police in Albania to prevent people heading for Britain
But the influx across the Channel vastly outstrips the numbers being removed. The National Crime Agency is working with local police in Albania to prevent people heading for Britain, and is cracking down on smuggling gangs, it is understood.
Reforms of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 were imminent but were postponed due to the Tory leadership contest, an insider added.
Miss Patel has also appointed a top QC, Harish Salve, to conduct a wider review of the legislation.
Last week official figures showed Albanians made up the largest group making modern slavery claims between April and June, with 1,130 applications. Yesterday figures published by the Ministry of Defence showed this year’s small boat arrivals reached 20,017 after 607 migrants were brought into Dover on Saturday. At the same point last year, the figure was just over 11,300.
This year’s total so far does not include an unconfirmed number of arrivals into Dover yesterday.
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