A sleek superyacht glides through crystal-clear waters, like something out of a James Bond movie, and you wonder what wealthy investors might be enjoying it on board.
"The Sun" reveals that instead of millionaires, the yacht may be owned by an Albanian-British gang that smuggles criminals across the Channel.
This method arouses less suspicion than the countless rubber dinghies that cross from France every day. The yachts anchor in small marinas and can avoid the strict controls in the larger ports.
The Sun's investigation follows revelations last month that thousands of convicted deported immigrants had secretly returned to Britain.
A journalist from The Sun contacted the yacht advert on TikTok and claimed to be an Albanian national who had served his sentence at Wandsworth Prison in South West London before being deported.
Once they were convinced the person was genuine, one of the ringleaders asked for a mobile phone number before the conversation moved to WhatsApp. One of the gang members used a UK phone number. They then demanded £15,500 for a place on a yacht departing from the Netherlands and docking near Dover.
“I have a free place on the ship today. A big yacht, a luxury one. We only accept cash,” said the Albanian trafficker. Offering a meeting, he added: “We only accept cash in Albania.”
The Sun reporter asked to see the yacht on a video call before committing to the deal. “After agreeing, he greeted us briefly before handing the phone over to another member of the gang, who promised a ‘smooth and safe journey,’” the newspaper reports.
This person told our journalist that he was also a former convict, who had been deported after serving 1 year and 10 months in Doncaster Prison for selling cocaine.
"I have 4 people in the same situation as you who will be on this trip in a few days. Don't worry about it. We spent 50,000 euros to charter a yacht for this job," he said.
The smuggler confirmed that the captains would be Albanians and promised that there would be no more than 10 passengers on the yacht, which, he said, had “three luxurious rooms.”
Asked if he had taken people to the UK recently, he replied: “10 days ago, we successfully sent 11 guys. I am sending you messages from 4 guys who have been in prison in the UK.”
He then sent a picture on WhatsApp explaining that 3 out of 4 migrants had "problems in the UK" and were "afraid of being deported again".
Worryingly, he said that one of the journalist's family members would have to meet him at a cafe and hand over the fare before he would be allowed to board.
The gang said the drivers would pick up the newcomers from a port near Dover before taking them to London. He added: “Don’t panic, okay?”
The Sun reported last month that 4,614 people had re-entered Britain in the past five years after being deported. At least 723 people had been deported two or more times and the Home Office has admitted the figures could be higher. Albanians made up more than a third of all cases, with 1,525 found in Britain after being forced to leave.
"But the TikTok gang we contacted are not alone in their shameless trade, as yachts are increasingly being used to transport trouble to our country. 5 men were arrested in May after a yacht smuggling 7 people into the UK was seized in the south of England.
Two crew members, a 42-year-old Briton and a 25-year-old Albanian, were detained on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration. Three others were questioned, suspected of being part of a group of people on shore to receive passengers from the ship,” The Sun writes.
"We reported our findings to TikTok, who within an hour shut down the account. They said it breached community protection guidelines regarding human trafficking. We will also pass our file on to the National Crime Agency," the British tabloid writes. ©LAPSI.al
