Gangs offer ‘festive season discounts’ to migrants trying to come to Britain illegally in latest crackdown mockery

By Liam On Dec 10, 2023

Crime gangs are offering “holiday discounts” to illegal migrants trying to sneak into Britain, mocking ministers’ attempts to crack down on trade.

A Mail on Sunday investigation can reveal smugglers are using social media adverts to promote cut-price deals, with one charging £5,000 per person for Christmas – a 37.5 per cent discount on the usual £8,000.

It comes after MPs and campaigners warned gangs would use the Tory party’s civil war over immigration as part of their marketing campaigns.

One Albanian TikTok ad featuring a photo of a Christmas tree in Covent Garden in central London promises “100 per cent success” for asylum seekers trying to cross into the UK. A separate Instagram advert for a spot on the truck states the “sale price” for the December 20 trip: “One person £6,000.” If there are two of you, £5,000 each.”

A senior Conservative MP and former Cabinet minister said gangs “will exploit the chaos in government for their marketing campaigns – they see nothing is working.”

A Mail on Sunday investigation can reveal smugglers are using social media advertising to promote cut-rate deals, with one charging £5,000 per person over Christmas – a 37.5 per cent discount on the usual £8,000.

Gangs are now increasingly focusing their advertising on offers to transport migrants to the UK in lorries, with one advert offering a deal to smuggle them on a plane for £14,000 per person.

The number of arrivals from Albania by boat has fallen sharply since the government declared it a “safe country”, meaning its citizens cannot apply for asylum in Britain and are returned there within days. But last night MPs warned the Home Office was turning a blind eye to illegal lorry passage.

Rishi Sunak this week faces the first parliamentary hurdle to passing his emergency bill to rescue the Rwandan scheme, which was dealt a blow last week when the minister responsible for it, Robert Jenrick, resigned, saying it would not work.

Mr Sunak said he “will press ahead with our plan to stop the boats” and that it is the only plan to end the “evil trade of smuggling gangs” while Labor has “no plans to tackle illegal immigration”. Right-wing Tory MPs are waiting for the star chamber led by Sir Bill Cash to deliver its inevitable verdict on Mr Sunak’s plans.

But many are already concerned that the bill will not escape legal challenges, amid reports that the government’s own legal advice said the scheme has “at best a 50 per cent” chance of starting flights next year.

Yesterday former home secretary Suella Braverman praised Mr Jenrick, saying: “He knows the details.” It’s very concerning that he can’t defend the bill.”

Mr Sunak’s allies are assuring MPs that any “temporary injunction” by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) could effectively be ignored by ministers. A senior Tory MP has said rebel MPs will use Rwandan legislation as a “Trojan horse” to force the issue of withdrawal from the ECHR.

The latest Home Office figures show almost 30,000 migrants arrived in the UK by small boat in 2023, the second-highest figure after last year, which saw a record 45,774 border crossings.

Alp Mehmet, head of Migration Watch, said: “Criminal gangs are all too willing to exploit the shameful immigration chaos within the government to smuggle in their foot soldiers, as well as bogus asylum seekers.”

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith last night called on ministers to do more to stop TikTok being used by criminals.

The Home Office said: “We are relentlessly pursuing criminal gangs smuggling people into the UK, with Border Force carrying out extensive searches of trucks, trailers and containers entering the country.”

Last night Meta, which owns Instagram, said it had shut down human smuggling accounts discovered by the Home Office.

The spokesperson added: “Human smuggling is illegal and if we find content that coordinates this activity, we remove it from our platforms.”