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Two more migrant smugglers are awaiting sentence in the UK after being found guilty of facilitating illegal entry and fraud. The two were arrested and charged with providing migrants with false passports so they could fly into Britain from France.

Two men, one a Turkish national and another from Kuwait are in custody awaiting a sentence after being found guilty of facilitating migrants flying into Britain from France using passports with "lookalike" pictures of themselves.

The two, named as Bassam A, a 36-year-old Kuwaiti and Abdulaziz A, a 28-year-old Turkish national, were found guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court, reported Britain’s right-leaning Daily Telegraph newspaper and local news portal Essex Live.

According to reports from the court, the two men managed to facilitate six migrants on five separate occasions, flying into the country. The court was also told there were three unsuccessful attempts, where authorities spotted "inconsistencies" when the migrants tried to board flights to Britain.

Migrants paid around 8,000 pounds to fly to UK on false passports

The six who did manage to land in the UK then presented themselves at passport control as undocumented migrants seeking asylum. The migrants reportedly paid around 8,000 pounds (around 9,250 euros) for the journeys.

According to Essex Live, the migrants who made it to the UK flew on documents containing "lookalike identification, supplied by co-conspirators, specially matched to each individual in an attempt to smuggle them through border controls without detection."

File photo used as illustration: The authorities picked up on some of the attempts after inconsistencies were discovered, but six migrants made it to the UK successfully via a flight from France | Photo: Imago/J. Gruber

The Home Office Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigation (CFI) officers led an investigation into the two men, who were later arrested and charged. According to the Telegraph, the two men reported their documents stolen after they had already been used successfully to cover their tracks.

A third man, a 26-year-old from Syria, named as Mahmoud K, also stood trial with the other two for the same offenses, but a jury could not reach a verdict in his case, reported the Telegraph.

Collaborative work to tackle 'unscrupulous criminal networks'

Chris Foster, CFI regional lead, said in a statement: "This case is an example of the excellent collaborative working we employ to tackle the unscrupulous criminal networks orchestrating illegal entry into the UK."

He went on to say that Border Force teams "were able to quickly apprehend the illegal entrants whilst CFI acted swiftly to investigate the individuals behind the criminal scheme and bring them before the courts."

Foster said that the smugglers saw the practice as "a money-making machine" and promised "thorough investigative and enforcement activity like this, we will put a stop to them to protect our borders and safeguard vulnerable people."

The Home Office and the Labour Government are working to send a clear message to smugglers: that they are cracking down on illegal activity and anyone found guilty of attempting to smuggle migrants into the country will face arrest, prosecution and potentially a jail sentence.

British government seeks law changes to criminalize smugglers further

At the beginning of August, the British government announced a "major law change to criminalize small boat smuggler ads." According to the government, while facilitating illegal migration is already a crime, the new changes "would add another string to law enforcement’s bow, better enabling them to disrupt the gangs while they are publicizing people-smuggling activities and provide an additional tool when building a case against those peddling this content."

According to Home Office analysis, an estimated 80 percent of migrants arriving via small boats told officials they used social media to locate and contact smugglers and make their journey towards Europe and the UK.

A consignment of boats intended for use by smugglers to cross the Channel as found in Bulgaria and confiscated in joint operations with Britain's NCA (National Crime Agency) | Source: NCA press release

Just over a week ago, Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) announced that it had, in collaboration with Bulgarian police, confiscated a consignment of 20 eight-meter-long boats intended for use by smugglers to cross the Channel. The inflatable boats were found in a "large truck bound for the Netherlands at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint overnight on August 10," stated the NCA in a press release on August 14.

"The crossing point is one of the busiest in Europe and is a key point targeted by people smugglers and other criminal gangs," added the NCA.

"The boats, while completely unsuitable for use in deep water, would typically have been used to carry around 50 or 60 people across the Channel. The lorry driver has now been charged with breaching Bulgarian customs regulations," stated the NCA press release.

"It is the second major seizure in recent weeks – a similar load containing 25 boats was identified and seized at the same location on 26 July. A total of 69 are believed to have been seized at the checkpoint since the turn of the year."

Head of the NCA Europe department, Gill Duggan, said there were more than 90 investigations currently underway into gangs or individuals suspected of being involved in migrant smuggling.

UK crackdown on illegal work by migrants and asylum seekers

The British government is also cracking down on illegal working in the UK. They say that many who hope to reach the UK are sold a "false narrative about their ability to live and work here, creating a draw for people to risk their lives by crossing the Channel in a small boat."

Individuals caught and found guilty of these new offenses could face up to five years in prison and a large fine.

Joanne Jakymec, a Chief Crown Prosecutor with the Crown Prosecutor Service (CPS) said in a government press release on August 2, "once [these new laws are] in force, the CPS won’t hesitate to charge cases where we have evidence of suspects using social media to advertisze small boat crossings, fake travel documents, or illegal working opportunities."

The government claims it has increased by 50 percent the arrests of those caught working illegally in the UK and has returned 35,000 people with no right to be in the UK, since it came to power in July 2024.