A people smuggler allegedly responsible for helping migrants reach the UK aboard dinghies has been unmasked as an Albanian gangster.
More than 30,000 people have attempted the perilous journey this year across the Channel from France, with UK Border Control intercepting several of the vessels.
The man allegedly responsible for some of the illegal trips charges people £4,500 and such is the rate of crossings rakes in £1million a week.
Nicknamed the Golden Lion, the accused smuggler is an Albanian gangster who promises desperate migrants British authorities will “look after them” on the other side.
The alleged crook, who reportedly operates out of Dunkirk, is one of many in France making a fortune in the vile people smuggling trade, the Mail Online reported.
In an undercover operation undertaken and footage captured by the Daily Mail, the accused smuggler told reporters posing undercover as people trying to reach Britain there was “no chance” of anything going wrong for them.
In the footage, he said: “Let’s say someone drowns in the sea, then you don’t just have a problem with the state, the main problem is with the family of that person. No one will forgive you for that.
‘People on the boat phone their relatives and then they phone the UK police to get you. As soon [as] you cross the water they will give you food, everything. If people are cold they give them blankets.
“It will be one day or two days until they register you and see if you are a wanted person and then they let you free and send you to a hotel.”
He promised after that people can “go wherever they want.”
Latest data from the Ministry of Defence showed on Friday, September 23, 656 migrants were detected aboard 15 small boats heading for the UK.
Scores of people have died making the perilous crossing, including a pregnant woman and a baby last year when their flimsy dinghy capsized in the strong currents.
Another boat threw its payload of people overboard when it collided with another vessel in the shipping lanes - the busiest in the world.
Natalie Elphicke, Tory MP for Dover slammed the criminals “exploiting the migrant crisis” and called for immediate action to be taken to stop the illegal practice.
French President Emmanuel Macron previously called for an emergency meeting of European ministers, adding: “France will not let the Channel become a cemetery.”
A Government spokesperson said: “The continued rise of dangerous Channel crossings is a clear abuse of our immigration laws, risking the lives of vulnerable people and funding vile criminal gangs.
“Despite the lies they have been sold by the people smugglers, migrants who travel through safe countries to illegally enter the UK will not be allowed to start a new life here. These individuals will be in scope to be relocated to Rwanda under our Migration and Economic Development Partnership.
“Our Nationality and Borders Act is beginning to have an impact on this exploitative business model, with 162 people already arrested since it became law, and we remain committed to removing those who flout our laws.”
