Britain to use anti-terror tactics to stop people smugglers, as government announce trafficking crack down

31 March 2025, 00:04

Britain will use anti-terror tactics to tackle illegal people smugglers, paying foreign prosectors to hunt them down.

The UK will host 40 countries, including the United States, Vietnam, Iraq, and France, to secure their borders from illegal smuggling gangs.

£33 million will be spent to disrupt people smuggling networks, increase prosecutions and secure the UK's borders.

The Organised Immigration Crime (OIC) Summit is the first time the full range of factors driving illegal migration – from the supply chain in small boats to anti-trafficking measures, illicit finance, and social media advertising – have been discussed at a global summit of this scale.

The summit will also see representatives from Meta, X and TikTok discuss how to jointly tackle the online promotion of irregular migration.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to say: “This vile trade exploits the cracks between our institutions, pits nations against one another and profits from our inability at the political level to come together."

It's believed that the foreign prosector tactic emulates Sir Keir's approach to stop Islamist terrorism when he let the Crown Prosecution Service .

This announcement comes as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Sunday she would "restore order to the asylum system" with a new initiative to tackle companies that hire on the black market.

A record 6,642 migrants crossed the Channel in 199 boats, so far in 2025.

The Home Secretary announced on Sunday that £30 million of funding will go directly to high-impact operations from the Border Security Command to tackle supply chains, illicit finances and trafficking routes across Europe, the Western Balkans, Asia, and Africa.

An additional £3 million will enable the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to increase its capacity to prosecute organised international smugglers and expand its international footprint to support the Border Security Command to pursue, disrupt and arrest those responsible for dangerous people smuggling operations.

It is understood Sir Keir will say: “When I was the Director of Public Prosecutions, we worked across borders throughout Europe and beyond to foil numerous plots, saving thousands of lives in the process. We prevented planes from being blown up over the Atlantic and brought the perpetrators to justice.

“I believe we should treat Organised Immigration Crime in the same way.

“I simply do not believe Organised Immigration Crime cannot be tackled. We’ve got to combine our resources, share intelligence and tactics, and tackle the problem upstream at every step of the people smuggling routes.”`

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The summit will focus on small boat journeys across the English Channel, which are framed as part of a wider problem of organised immigration crime driving movements to make profit.

More than 8,000 adverts on social media were taken down last year where smugglers were promoting crossings, before moving to encrypted channels.

Some 600 engines were seized and hundreds of people arrested for facilitating journeys in efforts to crack down on smuggling gangs.

Law enforcement agencies trying to break smugglers' business models are believed to have forced up the cost for engines and boats to £14,000 from the low thousands in a bid to make it economically unsustainable to carry on.

Criminal finances will be a focus of discussions, which will look at how to follow the money of smugglers globally and to share approaches from different countries.

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Speaking ahead of the summit, Yvette Cooper said: “Smuggler and trafficking gangs make their money crossing borders so law enforcement needs to work together across borders to bring them down. Only a coordinated international response, across the whole irregular migration route, can effectively dismantle these networks.

“The Organised Immigration Crime Summit is the first of its kind and will reinforce the UK’s position as a leader by securing international commitments to disrupt Organised Immigration Crime at every stage of the business model.

“The summit demonstrates mine and the Prime Minister’s absolute dedication to disrupting the callous Organised Criminal Gangs, strengthening our borders and ultimately save countless lives.”