Channel smuggling gangs resort to 'mega-dinghies' as crackdown limits small boat supply
People smuggling gangs are increasingly using larger 'mega-dinghies' to transport migrants across the English Channel as crackdowns limit the availability of smaller boats. This shift in strategy has raised concerns about increased risks to human life during crossings.
Why it matters
Highlights the evolving nature of illegal migration tactics and the ongoing security challenges faced by UK and French authorities.
Figure caption, The BBC watched groups of migrants boarding an inflatable dinghy on the Gravelines beach in northern France
A drop in small boats illegally reaching the UK is forcing people smuggling gangs to adopt new tactics, a BBC investigation has found.
And there are claims of more "mega-dinghies" being prepared, of the type seen arriving on UK shores in recent weeks.
The image of a 15-metre long small boat carrying a record 230 migrants towards the UK drew condemnation from both newspapers and politicians.
Ministers were accused of "losing control" of illegal Channel crossings, and the French police again found themselves criticised for not intervening.
But evocative as the picture was, it also represented a new strategy by the increasingly frustrated people smugglers we encountered on France's northern shores - who attacked our crew with stones, and injured our cameraman.
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