USA - A former British soldier who became a people smuggler has told the BBC how he transported dozens of Vietnamese migrants by yacht into private marinas in seaside towns across south-east England.
The man was convicted and sent to prison in 2019, but we have learned that smugglers are still using similar routes and methods - described by Border Force as "a really concerning risk".
Private marinas have "no more security than a caravan site", one harbourmaster on the Essex coast told us - while another said "there is nothing to stop this [people smuggling] happening". The ex-soldier and smuggler, who we are calling Nick, has also been describing how he smuggled Albanian people in cars onto ferries - and how the migrants then jumped into lorries on the vehicle decks mid-journey in the English Channel.
The smuggling routes - whether by yacht or ferry - were "easy" and "low risk", Nick told us. He said he had chosen to speak out now because he was "angry" he had been jailed for a crime that was still very possible to commit. He claimed to know people who, in the past year, had used the same routes and methods as him. Convicting him was "pointless", he said, if the authorities would not improve security to stop other people smugglers. Border Force is responsible for securing the 11,000 miles of UK coastline, but the security of harbours and marinas rests with private operators, Charlie Eastaugh, the force's director of maritime, told the BBC. (BBC)
