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Stowaway gangs busted
Page 7
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m French police believe that they have broken up six gangs that helped illegal immigrants board trucks and freight trains in Northern France and smuggle themselves into the UK.
Reports coming out of Paris suggest that many professional 'people smugglers' had infiltrated the Sangatte Refugee Centre near Calais and were charging would-be immigrants £500 a time to help get them across the Channel.
About 35 ringleaders have been charged and detained in France following a sixmonth investigation codenamed Operation Babylon, British police are understood to be have been told the names of those who ran the sophisticated smuggling scam in the UK--most of those involved are said to be of Iraqi or Kurdish origin.
French police report that the gangs charged their fellow countrymen £6,000 to be couriered across Turkey, into Europe and on to the UK. Those who arrived at Sangatte under their own steam were also offered a journey to England for a fee. They were herded into parked trucks or shown how to get past Eurotunnel's tight security cordon.
As many as 20,000 immigrants may have been helped to cross the Channel this year, say police.
A total of 100 people were arrested, including 17 in the Red Cross centre itself. A detective who made the arrests said the people smugglers in the centre were easy to spot as they wore smart suits and carried expensive mobile phones.
Undercover officers posed as immigrants to expose the gangs, which fought "turf" wars to protect their lucrative trade.
• Last Tuesday (7 November) the Sangatte Refugee Centre was closed to new entrants, 10 days ahead of schedule.