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People smugglers offer migrants ‘package deals’ to UK on TikTok

Albanian gangs are using social media to advertise deals that include a house to rent and a job upon arrival in Britain
Migrants arriving in Dover, Kent after a Channel crossing.
A number of people attempted to cross the Channel on Boxing Day and were brought into Dover by Border Force
GARETH FULLER/PA

Albanian people smugglers have deployed new tactics to boost the number of small boat crossings by offering a package deal that includes a house to rent and a job.

They have also urged Albanians to take advantage of the “messy and busy” airports over the Christmas period to fly into the UK on passports that they have stolen across Europe.

On Friday it was announced that more than 150,000 migrants have now crossed the Channel since records began in 2018.

Migrants disembarking a Border Force vessel in Dover.
Groups in Albania used social media to target potential clients, with adverts promising package deals
GARETH FULLER/PA

Adverts on TikTok deployed the type of marketing techniques that would be seen in TV or billboard commercials, offering deals for as little as £2,500 with payment only required on arrival in Dover.

The adverts said there would be “specialised people” ready to pick them up, take them to private rented accommodation and find them cash-in-hand work on the black market. It is believed to be the first time that people smugglers have publicly offered such a comprehensive package to migrants.

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The deals have targeted people in Albania who may be tempted to travel to the UK for several months to take advantage of significantly more lucrative work than they can find in their homeland.

Messages seen by The Times revealed how one smuggler told a prospective migrant that they could fly him and his fiancée to the UK, find a house to rent for £1,000 a month in London and “simple work”, all for a £12,000 fee. They sent photos of the home they would get, similar to photos taken by an online estate agent.

More than 450 people crossed the Channel on Christmas Day, taking the total number of crossings in 2024 to 35,491 — about 21 per cent higher than last year, but about 22 per cent down on 2022. But the number of Albanians crossing in small boats has fallen sharply in the past two years. In 2022 a total of 12,658 Albanians arrived in small boats, but this fell by 93 per cent to 927 last year. In the first nine months of this year a total of 497 arrived in small boats.

The decline was attributed to a fast-track returns deal struck between the UK and Albanian governments two years ago that led to a significant rise in the number of illegal migrants sent back to the Balkan country. An increase in the number of successful prosecutions against Albanian people smugglers in the UK also added to the fall in numbers.

A TikTok account run by an Albanian based in the UK, under the name “Journey to London”, used emojis of Albanian and UK flags with the caption: “We offer journeys from Albania to England.”

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They said that they would find customers a house to rent and work, although they said specific details would be withheld until migrants got in touch. A UK phone number was given on the adverts but had since been disconnected.

Another advert on TikTok said: “Albanian to UK, do contact us for all the ways to get there.” It set out four reasons to sign up, promising a “secure journey” and “competitive prices”. It said that they had “specialised people working on this” and promised they could provide “maximum reliability”.

Migrants arriving in Dover, Kent after a Channel crossing.
35,491 people have crossed on small boats to the UK so far this year
GARETH FULLER/PA

In a separate advert which had been viewed by more than 1,800 people, the TikTok user said: “I am in Dover waiting for my clients to arrive on a boat and for the payment.”

There was also an advert featuring a picture of the boat to be used to cross the Channel, which stated: “We are preparing for the next journey.” They promised a “secure crossing 100 per cent”, and added “start the journey without any delay”. It said: “Competitive super price for only £2,500 per person. Payment in sterling upon arrival in the UK.”

TikTok advertisement for Albanian people-smuggling services offering packages including housing and jobs for £2,500.
Adverts on TikTok have encouraged migrants to attempt the journey to the UK

A prospective Albanian migrant, who got in touch with the smugglers privately after seeing the adverts on TikTok, said he was interested in moving to the UK with his fiancée. He was offered the choice of travelling to the UK by boat, aircraft or lorry, and was quoted a price of £12,000 for the flight option with a “99 per cent guarantee”.

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He told the smuggler he had relatives in Luton, and was assured that they would find him a home and a job in London at a cost of £1,000 per month and sent photos of one of the homes available.

Lifejackets seized in a people-smuggling investigation.
A huge number of lifejackets recovered following an operation into people smuggling in Germany, where members of the criminal networks are also based
NCA/PA

He was told to send a photo of his fiancée and himself, so the smuggler could find a passport that looked similar, but was urged to hurry to take advantage of the busier travel period over Christmas. The smuggler said: “You can do this over Christmas. It’s messy and busy at the airports.”

The adverts showed an example of the tactics used by Albanian “migrant brokers”. Albanians tend to be used as “middle men”, deployed by more experienced organised crime groups to find customers in their homeland, earning commission for each person they pass on.

They are then connected to other members of the criminal network — often Kurds — who work on the ground in Germany, Belgium and France to transport the dinghies and engines to the beaches in northern France. The recruiters operate in all major cities in Albania and pump out hundreds of adverts on social media, using mainly TikTok to promote the trips.

Interior photo of a hallway with stairs, showing a door and a glimpse of a garden.
An image of a UK home that was sent to a prospective illegal immigrant by an Albanian people smuggler

There are also Albanian “middlemen” in the UK who recruit migrants through relatives or other groups such as crime gangs or black-market operators who are already in the UK. They collect the money from the UK-based people.

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Most Albanians who pay people smugglers to come to the UK are attracted by the ability to earn significantly more in the UK than they can earn in Albania. One Albanian who has made the journey said: “You can earn enough in two days in the UK that would take you a whole month to earn in Albania.”

One of the middlemen who helped the surge of Albanians travel to the UK on small boats in 2022 was Eglantin Doksani, who was jailed for nine years and nine months in July.

Court sketch of Hewa Rahimpur at extradition hearing.
Hewa Rahimpur was jailed for his role as the leader of a gang which brought thousands of migrants to Britain
ELIZABETH COOK/PA

The National Crime Agency believed he was responsible for transporting hundreds of people across the Channel in 2022. Doksani, 24, was identified as an associate of Hewa Rahimpur, a leader of a human-trafficking gang who police believe was responsible for smuggling 10,000 people to the UK in small boats. The Iranian citizen was jailed for 11 years in Belgium last year.

Doksani acted as an agent who would broker spaces on small boats operated by Rahimpur’s gang. WhatsApp messages between the pair revealed how they operated. In one message Doksani told Rahimpur: “Pls try to do something tomorrow to send the guys because I have ten more people waiting for me. Cash in hand.”

Another message discussed payment in which Doksani was seen trying to impress his crime boss, when he said: “Next time bro I’m gonna bring better all together for ten people 30K£.”

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TikTok said that it had proactively removed the adverts posted by the users. It said that it directs users to a website called Stop the Traffik which contains information about the dangers of human trafficking and smuggling.

A Home Office spokesman said: “These despicable people-smuggling gangs are exploiting vulnerable people by peddling lies on social media and placing them in horrendous conditions, working for next to nothing.

“Anyone found to be doing this will face severe penalties, and we are working with the National Crime Agency and major social media companies to rapidly remove online adverts promoting dangerous small boat crossings. Since July, arrests against illegal working have risen by nearly a third compared to the same time last year, and we have also increased enforced returns by 25 per cent.”

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