People smugglers cram record 128 illegal migrants onto single dinghy in English Channel

Reckless people smugglers have been condemned by the Home Office for cramming a record number of illegal immigrants onto a single migrant dinghy in the English Channel.

GB News has been told that 128 migrants were squeezed into the dinghy, which was launched from a beach near Dieppe on Thursday night.

The so-called taxi boat eventually made it to UK waters on Friday morning, after picking up large groups of migrants from two beaches south of the port of Boulogne.

The 128 illegal immigrants were taken on board the Border Force vessel Defender and transferred to the migrant processing facility at Dover harbour just after 9am on Friday.

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Later, GB News sources filmed exclusive images of the migrant dinghy as it was winched onto the quayside in Dover.

The dinghy appeared to be a longer length than most of the migrant boats that cross the Channel.

Friday's arrival beats the previous record for the number on a single dinghy, when 125 illegal immigrants were crammed onto one boat in September last year.

In a statement on the latest record number of arrivals, a Home Office spokesperson said: “Smuggling gangs are taking greater risks than ever with the number of people they are cramming into unseaworthy boats rising year on year.

“This crossing serves as a stark reminder that criminal gangs have no regard for the safety of those they claim to help, the reality is clear and lives are being lost in the Channel as a result.

“This is exactly why we have signed a new deal with the French to prevent these perilous journeys by boosting enforcement action on beaches, building on the over 45,000 attempted crossings stopped since the election."

As well as smuggling bigger numbers onto dinghies, criminal gangs are also going to huge lengths to try to avoid enhanced police patrols along the French coast.

Earlier this year, the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a new three-year deal to give £662million to boost efforts against the people smugglers.

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It has seen hundreds more police officers deployed along beaches particularly around Calais and Dunkirk.

That move has forced the gangs to launch from beaches 100 miles south of Dunkirk, as well as a number of spots along the Belgian coast.

The latest illegal crossings take the number who have arrived in UK waters so far this year to around 12,500.

That figure is 43 per cent lower than the more than 21,000 illegal small boat migrants who made the crossing at the same point last year.

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