A people smuggler who sends migrants across the Channel reveals how the illicit small boats trade really works
“The majority of smugglers lose their money on gambling, drugs and discos.”
Those are the words of someone involved in cross-Channel people smuggling.
In an exclusive interview with Sky News, they lifted the lid on how people make it to Britain on small boats.
In just a few days, the government is set to publish new laws aiming to stop small boats crossing the Channel, with illegal migration remaining one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s priorities.
In a wide-ranging discussion, the smuggler revealed how they avoid the police and what they make of the government’s Rwanda deportation plan.
They also disclose how most of those involved in taking people across the Channel end up in the UK themselves.
And they blame “mafia” groups for the deaths of more than 30 people who drowned while trying to cross the Channel in November 2021.
Here’s what else they told us about how these criminal gangs operate, in our full Q&A.
How would you describe your role?
It starts in the camps. The refugees are there – all nationalities from Kurds to Afghans, Albanians and Pakistanis – and so are the smugglers.
People get the smuggler’s name and make an agreement about where to meet. Passengers are sent on foot, by bus or car to the beach.
The smuggler waits for the equipment to arrive, it’s assembled, then people are put in boats and they set off.
Smugglers are just doing business, transferring people to the other side.
They work and make money. They are even helping people.
We see it as just another job, like working in a restaurant or a barbershop.
Read more:
How police exposed dark world of people smuggling
Six men jailed for people-smuggling after joint operation
Record numbers crossed Channel in 2022
What does it cost to get to Britain and what’s the process?
The first thing is the money. If someone has money, it’s easier.
If they don’t have money, the journey is more difficult and they’ll have to wait around.
If there are too many migrants, the prices go up. So it goes from €500 to €2,500.
If there aren’t enough people then the prices drop.
Different nationalities also affect the prices. For example, Albanians pay more, Pakistanis pay more.
Cracking down on people smugglers is a top priority for Rishi Sunak’s government
How difficult do the French police make it?
Smugglers play hide and seek. If the police are there, they hide and wait till they have gone and then we do our job.
The police watch us, and we also watch the police. When they have gone, we do the job.
But if the police are there they disrupt our work and puncture the dinghy.
It’s becoming more difficult to avoid the police because the locations have now been identified.
In the past, it was just the trucks. The police now know from which points smugglers send people.
People have died going to Britain on small boats – would you put your family on a boat?
Yes, it’s normal. People take four days [to travel] from Greece to Italy. Compared to that trip, this journey is nothing.
People put their own family members in these dinghies – their wives, sisters and brothers.
Sometimes, they cross themselves.
Is smuggling a lucrative business?
Some people lose money.
An eight-metre dinghy costs around €1,000-€12,000. If the police come and tear it apart, that’s €12,000 down the drain.
Sometimes it happens twice, or the engine doesn’t work, or the dinghy is confiscated on its way.
But some also make a profit.
The majority of smugglers lose their money on gambling, drugs and discos.
Tell us more about smugglers and the UK.
Three-quarters of the smugglers are in Britain. The money they make, they invest in business there.
They live there, life is easier there. Regardless of their nationalities, three-quarters of the smugglers live in the UK and invest their money in business.
They are happier there. They rent houses under someone else’s name and drive cars without a licence.
They walk around London. They walk around Leeds, Birmingham and Newcastle.
They have made money, invested it there and have businesses.
They send people across the water and then they jump on the last boat and cross the water.
What about the UK government’s Rwanda plan – would that change anything?
I swear even if they send people to the Amazon, people will come to Britain – it’s their wish to go to Britain.
It will change a bit for some nationalities.
It will decrease but not to the extent that refugees won’t come to Britain.
People will still come.
Where do the boats come from?
In the past, people would go to Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium and would buy boats there. But that has decreased because it was discovered [by police].
So now people bring the boats from Turkey – they can buy them in bulk and it’s cheaper.
It costs around €3,500. So they buy five or six and send them to Germany by post, and then from Germany, cars transport them to France.
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A record number of 45,756 people attempted the dangerous journey from France to the UK last year, a rise of over 60%
How did the deaths of 31 migrants in the Channel in 2021 make you feel?
Some of these guys [other people smugglers] have no conscience.
Even when the weather is not good, they are addicts and just want the money and to play with people’s lives.
People are desperate in the camps in the rain and cold, and with the police’s dawn raids.
If you tell the migrants “tonight is good”, everyone swarms around you and they don’t care. They don’t know about the weather.
Some of the smugglers are mafia, not smugglers, and do it only for the money. They know the weather is not good, but they still play with people’s lives.
The night of the incident was one of those nights.
The ones who did it were mafia – they have no heart.
All flights were halted at Edinburgh Airport this morning due to an IT issue affecting its air traffic control provider.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the airport later announced service had resumed.
Its post read: “Flights have now resumed following the IT issue with our air traffic provider.
“We thank passengers for their patience and understanding.”
But passengers continue to feel the effects.
A Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Edinburgh was diverted to Dublin after going into a holding pattern over the Scottish capital.
And a live arrivals board on the airport’s website showed multiple flights diverted, delayed and cancelled.
Arrivals board at Edinburgh Airport. Pic: Edinburgh Airport
Morven McCall and Cody Stevenson, both 19, were due to fly easyJet from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on their first trip away together.
Morven told Sky News: “We literally just got into the airport and as soon as we walked through the door there was an announcement that it had been cancelled.
“I was ill over the summer and had to cancel two holidays already, this was our first time going away together. We are just gutted and stressed.”
Follow live: Latest updates as flights halted
Arrivals at Edinburgh Airport. File pic: PA
One passenger was on a plane when they found out.
They said: “We boarded our flight and pushed back on time for an 8.45 (am) departure, then sat for a while before the pilot told us what was happening.
“He updated us a couple of times, cabin crew are brilliant at handing out water etc, and I’m surprised that everyone appears to be upbeat. But then you do wonder how long for, just been told we’re hoping to be in the air in 20 minutes.”
Another passenger told us: “The first news was from the airport announcement as we were halfway through boarding, saying the airfield was closed due to air traffic control down.
“No one knew what was going on. We’d already been delayed a bit before boarding, with no reason. I suspect problems started about 9am.”
It comes after an earlier announcement that all flights had been halted.
“No flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport,” the previous statement said.
“Teams are working on the issue and will resolve as soon as possible.”
There was no timeframe for recovery initially, Sky News learned.
It’s understood by PA that the issue was not linked to today’s Cloudflare outage.
Edinburgh Trams also posted on X, writing: “If you’re travelling with us to @EDI_Airport this morning, please be aware that flights are not currently operating.”
The airport urged passengers to contact their airline for the latest information on flights.
An average of 43,000 passengers per day use the airport, which is served by 37 airlines flying to 155 destinations.
A former doctor has been charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients in his care.
Nathaniel Spencer, 38, has been charged with 15 counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of assault by penetration, nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, three counts of assault a child under 13 by penetration and one count of attempted assault by penetration.
It follows a police investigation into alleged sexual offences between 2017 and 2021.
Staffordshire Police said in a statement the charges come after a complex investigation by the Public Protection Unit into sexual offences at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, in Stoke-on-Trent, and Russells Hall Hospital, in Dudley.
North Staffordshire Justice Centre
Ben Samples, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the West Midlands CPS Complex Casework Unit and Serious Violence, Organised Crime and Exploitation Unit, said: “We have decided to prosecute Nathaniel Spencer for a number of serious sexual offences allegedly carried out against patients while he was working as a doctor – including assault by penetration and sexual assault against a child.
“Our prosecutors have worked at length to support a detailed and complex investigation by Staffordshire Police, carefully reviewing the available evidence to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”
Spencer, from Birmingham, will appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 20 January 2026.
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