Migrant crossings by dinghy in the English Channel are taking on even more dangerous dimensions. A Daily Mail investigation claims that trafficking networks are using increasingly larger vessels to load hundreds of people onto a single journey, raising profits to million-pound levels and pushing the safety of those on board to the limit.
911 people in three days, profits estimated at more than £1.8 million
According to official data cited in the report, from August 8 to 10, 911 migrants crossed the English Channel in 10 dinghies. With payment estimated at around £2,000 per person, trafficking networks are suspected of having taken in more than £1.8 million from these crossings alone.
The report presents the model as a low-cost, high-profit business, where the risk to migrants remains the part paid for most dearly by those who board these vessels.
New record with 230 people on one dinghy
A new record was also registered during this period: 230 people, including a baby, were transported on a dinghy about 15 metres long. According to the report, the vessel was about two metres longer than any dinghy previously recorded in these crossings.
Footage released by French rescue services showed the dinghy deformed by the weight, with passengers tightly packed together and some of their feet hanging in the water. Two people who asked for help were taken off by a French Navy vessel and brought to Calais, but the dinghy continued toward Britain despite warnings of serious danger.
Cheap dinghies, massive loads and an international supply chain
According to the investigation, traffickers are favouring large vessels because they allow them to transport more people with fewer trips and, under this version, reduce the chances of being detected. A 49-foot dinghy, similar to the one that carried 230 people, was reportedly offered online for around £1,416.
This means the cost per person could fall to just a few pounds, while the amount demanded from migrants remains many times higher. The report also describes a supply network stretching from China, Turkey, the Balkans, Germany and Belgium to France, where the parts are transported separately, later assembled and then taken to the coast in vans.
Authorities speak of crackdowns, but crossings continue to rise
Britain’s National Crime Agency, the NCA, says it is acting against trafficking networks both within Britain and in other European countries. Just one month ago, according to the authorities, 25 large dinghies and 25 outboard engines were seized at the port of Felixstowe, equipment suspected of being intended for the transport of around 2,000 migrants.
However, the reported figures show that the crossings are not stopping. Just a few weeks before the 230-person record, cases had been recorded involving 128, 165 and 173 people on a single vessel, while another incident involved a dinghy carrying 173 people that caught fire in the middle of the English Channel. This contrast raises questions about the real effectiveness of the measures announced by the authorities.
Political and financial cost as debate in Britain intensifies
According to British authorities, each migrant entering in this way can cost taxpayers up to £450,000 a year. By that calculation, the 911 people who arrived over three days could translate into a potential cost of around £410 million.
The British government has signed a new three-year security agreement with France worth £662 million, but the opposition in Britain considers the approach taken so far insufficient. According to figures reported there, more than 200,000 migrants have entered the country through the English Channel since 2018, showing that the crossing network remains active despite the funding, seizures and operations announced.
The picture that emerges from this report is that of a trafficking market adapting faster than the institutional response. The larger the dinghies become, the higher the profit for criminal networks and the greater the risk for the people who climb aboard them.