Illegal Channel migrants supplied low cost journeys by smugglers throughout to the UK in the event that they publish the journey on social media

Channel migrants who chronicle their journey on social media are being offered discounted passage by people smugglers eager to promote their services.

In return for posting footage of their crossing on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, migrants can cut the cost by up to £2,000, a significant reduction on a trip that normally costs anywhere between £1,500 and £6,000.

Financial incentivisation marks another layer of exploitation by smugglers, who have already ferried more than 4,392 people from France to Kent on small and often dangerously overpacked boats so far this year.

The National Crime Agency has been working with social media companies to get video footage of the crossings removed, with more than 8,000 taken down last year alone.

‘Nearly 18,000 social media accounts, pages, and posts have been removed by [social media] companies since we started working with them in November 2021,’ said Paul Brisley, a senior manager in threat leadership at the National Crime Agency.  

‘The adverts show photographs of migrants in a boat, using videos of the migrants themselves as an endorsement of the service.

‘[The smugglers] also offer discounts if migrants take a video of their journey, if it is successful, that they can then use to promote their service.’

Adverts on social media have become increasingly central to the activities of smugglers, providing a key mechanism through which the criminals attract business. 

A GB News investigation claimed that dozens of Albanian accounts on TikTok boast of their ability to get men, women and children from France to Britain

Stills from footage of migrants crossing the Channel in a small boat. The journey was part of an operation run by Pistiwan Jameel, a railway worker who acted as a broker for smuggling gangs

Jameel was arrested after helping Albanian national Artan Halilaj, 40, to smuggle his brother-in-law Fiorentino Halilaj, 26, into the country on a small boat in September 2023

In addition to Incentives offered for family groups, certain nationalities, women and children, their services include the supply of bogus paperwork.

‘The criminals offer migrant smuggling services, the supply of false documents and fraudulent assistance with visa applications,’ said Brisley.

Immigration experts have expressed concern about the increasingly polished nature of the adverts published by smugglers, which downplay the perilous nature of the crossings while putting a honeyed sheen on life in Britain.

The  National Crime Agency’s efforts to thwart the criminals’ social media activities has been welcomed by Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK. 

‘It’s welcome news there is a crackdown on social media channels,’ he told the Telegraph. ‘It is disturbing to hear that they are offering discounts for video footage. It shows they are very entrepreneurial. This is a ruthless business making millions each year.’ 

The financial scale of smuggling operations was laid bare last month when a ‘prolific’ people smuggler who hid in plain sight as a railway company cleaner was jailed after it emerged that he had been running an illegal operation for 15 years.

Pistiwan Jameel, 55, acted as a broker for smuggling gangs in France and boasted of being a ‘trusted’ fixer who made at least £1.6million for his criminal network.

Jameel’s dealings as an underworld fixer for international smuggling network saw him jailed for four years and 10 months at Birmingham crown court after he admitted two counts of facilitating illegal immigration.

Social media accounts often include pictures of the UK, including landmarks like Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, to drum up business. Here, migrants hail a French boat for help

Earlier this month, a Palestinian migrant fleeing war-torn Gaza shared footage of his treacherous journey across the English Channel, showing how he travelled on a dinghy crammed with people.

Abu Wadih Al-Qassas had been documenting his escape from the deadly Israel-Hamas war on TikTok, where some of his videos received up to 89,000 views.

One clip showed Al-Qassas, who has nearly 173,000 followers on the social platform, sitting on a packed boat in the middle of the sea alongside dozens of migrants, including women and children, most of whom were wearing orange life vests.

The video was captioned: ‘Thank God, we have arrived in Britain after a long journey.’ 

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: ‘We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.

‘The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.’