Some Albanian migrants are reportedly abandoning the usual dinghy crossings and switching to lorries as people smugglers shift tactics to avoid being caught. According to The Times, the criminal gangs behind the smuggling operations are now disguising their adverts as news stories on social media, with platforms like TikTok being used to lure potential migrants into coughing up eye-watering sums — now around £23,000 for the journey.
While most small boat crossings are intercepted by the UK Border Force, meaning migrants are processed and quickly deported, especially since Albania was declared a safe country in 2023, the back-of-the-lorry route is much harder to track. And that’s exactly what smugglers are banking on, according to the Express.
An insider explained the shift in strategy: “Arriving on small boats means they will be sent to detention centres and, in a matter of days, deported back to Albania. They know that, and to avoid any contact with the immigration authorities, they are using lorries. That has increased the price from £18,000 in 2023-24 to £23,000 currently.”
The so-called “package deals” offered by these smuggling rings don’t stop at getting people into the UK. Some of the ads go a step further by promising work in organised crime — everything from cannabis farms to burglaries. Alarmingly, some targets have reportedly included Premier League footballers’ homes.
Despite TikTok making moves to take down the content, the smugglers aren’t exactly giving up. They just make new accounts and direct interested parties to WhatsApp, where conversations can continue undetected. One of the TikTok accounts, shqipet_london, was flagged in March for a string of adverts offering these shady services — all of which have since been removed.
One post read: “Journey on the head of the lorry for all we are waiting in Brussels. We have a journey every day. Security 100 per cent with Polish and British lorry drivers. For the boys with problems, only one SMS to us. We are the first hand of this business.”
Another said: “Tomorrow, space in a lorry for four people. Journey starts in the evening, who is ready to go to the UK?” And a third promised: “Book our place with us, do not deal with the middleman. We are first-hand on this business. Passage 100 per cent. Payment when you arrive in London.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy weighed in, calling the trade “diabolical” and “lawless.” He said: “Criminal gangs have long exploited instability in the Western Balkans… They are risking lives for profit and becoming increasingly violent in their determination to make as much money as possible.”
He added that the UK is committed to ending this illegal trade and protecting borders as part of the Government’s wider Plan for Change, pointing out the growing importance of security in the Western Balkans for both the UK and Europe.
The game of cat and mouse between people smugglers and border forces shows no signs of slowing — but it’s clear the tactics are getting more dangerous, and more expensive, by the day.
