"Today’s sanctions target individuals and entities involved in people-smuggling and driving irregular migration to the UK, from a small boat supplier in Asia, to informal Hawala money movers in the Middle East, to gang leaders based in the Balkans and North Africa," stated the British government in a press release issued on Wednesday (July 23).

The sanctions, state the government, are expected to "disrupt the flow of money and materials – including freezing property, bank accounts and other assets – which allow organized criminal gangs to operate this vile trade."

Those targeted by the sanction list might be carrying out a range of different activities within the supply chain of people-smuggling gangs, wrote the government. This could include supplying small boats, sourcing fake passports, facilitating illicit payments through Hawala, or directly driving lorries, or piloting small boats, in which migrants are transported. A few of the individuals on the list are alleged to be leaders of the gangs themselves.

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'Landmark moment'

The British government said it was using "innovative foreign policy approaches" to help combat migration. The sanctions formed part of the "world’s first dedicated plan to target people-smuggling and organized immigration crime."

Britain’s Foreign Secretary (Foreign Minister) David Lammy called the issuing of sanctions a "landmark moment" designed to "reduce irregular migration to the UK."

Lammy said he wanted to make sure that the people smugglers were targeted and forced to "pay for their actions" wherever they are in the world. "My message to the gangs who callously risk vulnerable lives for profit is this: we know who you are, and we will work with our partners around the world to hold you to account."

Read AlsoChannel crossings: Investigation uncovers elaborate supply route across Turkey, Germany and France

Named and sanctioned

One of the people on the list is a man named as Bledar L, an Albanian who is believed to be "in control of the 'Belgium operations' of an organized criminal group, which smuggles migrants from Belgium across the English Channel to the United Kingdom," stated the press release.

Another company in China was targeted for "advertising their small boats on an online marketplace explicitly for the purpose of people-smuggling." The boats advertised, stated the British government, are exactly the types used by criminal gangs transporting migrants across the Channel.

Another man on the list is Alen B. According to the press statement, Alen B. is a "former police translator who went on to lead a large smuggling network in Serbia, terrorizing refugees, with the aid of corrupt policemen." Subsequently, states the press release, police found Alen B. living in a house in Serbia "worth more than one million euros, bought with money extorted from countless desperate migrants."

Another man, named as Mohammed T. "the self-styled 'King of Horgos'" is also being sanctioned. According to the press release, Mohammed T. "brutally oversaw a migrant camp in Horgos, Serbia and led a people-smuggling gang known by his surname. His followers "are known for their violent treatment of refugees who decline their services or cannot pay for them," stated the press release.

Muhammed KP is also on the list. He is accused of being a hawala banker who allowed migrants to make payments to the people smugglers. All of those on the list are being "publically named and barred from engaging with the UK financial system," stated the government.

Several of the people on the list to be sanctioned were involved with people-smuggling via Iraq. Some had been part of equipping gangs in northern France; others are alleged to be part of organized crime groups who stowed migrants on refrigerated lorries and others are thought to have been at the start of the chain, bringing migrants from Asia to Europe.

Read AlsoInside France's battle against migrant smugglers: A closer look

'Harsh punishments' and 'sexual abuse'

Two people were on the list, allegedly part of North African gangs operating in the Balkans. These gangs and their members, stated the British government, are known to "deal out harsh punishments to migrants who are unable to pay," as well as holding migrants for ransom and sometimes sexually abusing women unable to pay their fees.

Four gangland bosses were on the list, including the alleged heads of both of the North African gangs operating in the Balkans.

In addition, there was a long list of members of other Balkan gangs who are accused of supplying fake passports to migrants hoping to travel.

Those on the list will have their assets frozen, will be issued with travel bans from the UK, and if they are a director, they will be disqualified from acting as a director of a company operating in the UK, or taking part in management, formation or promotion of a UK company.

Read AlsoEuropean police arrest 'highly dangerous' migrant smugglers

British strategy: 'Disrupt, deter, return'

The British government says its new strategy could be summed up with three words: "disrupt, deter, return."

Since the election of Labour’s government just over a year ago, authorities say they have returned over 35,000 migrants, an increase of 13 percent on the same period from July 2023-2024.

Director General of Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA), Graeme Biggar, said he believed the new sanctions would "complement NCA activity… [and] give the UK a new way of pursuing, undermining and frustrating the operational capability of a wide range of organized immigration crime networks, including those who facilitate or enable offending."

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) warned that the impact of this first round of sanctions could be limited.

MAC’s deputy Chair, Dr. Madeleine Sumption, told the BBC she would be "surprised" if the sanctions were a "game changer for the industry as a whole, and for the existence of the small boats route."

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, Sumption said the full impact would be "dependent to an extent on the cooperation of other countries where smugglers are operating."

Further sanctions packages are expected, but the British government says it is hoping this initial list will signal the type of targets being pursued by the UK in its efforts to "smash the people-smuggling gangs."

The plans were also criticized by shadow home secretary Chris Philp from the Conservative party. The BBC reported that Philp declared: "The truth is you don’t stop the Channel crossings by freezing a few bank accounts in Baghdad or [by] slapping a travel ban on a dinghy dealer in Damascus."

Read AlsoGerman police raid suspected hawala banking ring

Further measures coming soon...

Alongside the sanctions, the British government also announced further measures in its plan to cut down on asylum seekers working illegally in the UK. Further sanctions will be introduced at an unspecified later date.

On Wednesday, the government announced it would be sharing the addresses of asylum accommodation with food delivery firms. The aim is to make sure that anyone registered as an asylum seeker, who has no permission to work, can be identified by these firms based on their address.

French authorities believe that the relative ease of working illegally in the UK, a country without official identity cards, is one of the reasons so many migrants want to reach Britain. In recent agreements between France and Britain, more measures to target illegal working were promised.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 Today’s Programme on Wednesday (July 23), Labour MP Jo White said the government also intends to introduce a digital identity card to further prevent asylum seekers and migrants from registering for work illegally.

Finally, also on Wednesday, the British government announced it would be using AI to help determine the age of asylum seekers claiming to be minors.