The Government’s new sanctions on those involved in smuggling – from gang leaders to boat companies, fake passport dealers and brokers – will come into force on Wednesday.
Small boat journeys have soared so far this year, with 2025 on track to set a new record for the number of annual arrivals.
But experts said that smuggling networks are likely to be able to evade and adapt to the measures.
The main obstacle is that gangs usually operate in countries outside of the UK’s jurisdiction.
Police officers clash with people thought to be migrants in Gravelines, France, during an attempted small boat crossing in July (Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
Many countries don’t have the legal framework to execute the sanctions, with many having no specific criminal offenses for smuggling related activity, Walsh said.
“If you’re in a position to sanction them, then you might just be able to arrest them,” Walsh said.
The Foreign Office said the new sanctions will operate in tandem with traditional law enforcement tools to target people “operating outside of UK jurisdiction”.
Smugglers use unconventional finance to evade detection
“You can ban people from opening bank accounts in the UK… but they’ll open a bank account elsewhere,” Walsh said.
Many smugglers are believed to use Hawala networks, an informal system for organising money transfers, which Walsh said is preferred by migrants than carrying cash as it is seen as lower risk.
Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said that the sanctions “may help disrupt some of the criminal networks profiting from human misery” but that without more routes to allow people to seek refuge in the UK legally, “desperate people will continue to take dangerous journeys, criminal gangs will simply adapt”.
People run across the beach in Gravelines, France, in a bid to board a small boat (Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
In 2024, 99 per cent of those crossing the Channel sought asylum, meaning they requested refuge in the UK on the grounds of persecution or threat in their own country.
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Read MoreThe UK does have some routes for other kinds of refugee resettlement in the UK – separate from the asylum process. Most are nationality specific – for Afghans, Ukrainians and Hong Kongers – while some are run by the UN, but people cannot apply for these.
Those who do not have access to a passport, either because they never had one or because it was lost or abandoned during the rush to flee their home, also cannot travel to the UK safely to seek asylum.
“We’re not just talking about small-scale casual criminals – organised immigration crime reaps $10 billion a year worldwide. Our new powers will cover a range of targets, such as Hawala operators using the financial system for transactions and to process ill-gotten profits.”
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