Organised criminals cash in on migrants dodging Rwanda jets

PEOPLE smugglers are using "facilitators" operating in the UK to help migrants avoid deportation to Rwanda, the National Crime Agency believes.

- Michael Knowles

The Daily Express has revealed criminals are assisting Channel migrants to avoid one-way flights to Kigali by taking them to Dublin.

Asylum seekers camping in squalid conditions claimed UK-based criminals were charging up to £3,600 for passage from Belfast.

And this newspaper can reveal the NCA identified that "facilitators" are "acting on behalf of organised crime gangs.

The 310-mile land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is the most popular route, with crooks exploiting virtually unguarded roads, intelligence suggests.

Sources have also said the Garda has increased checks on buses crossing the border.

And they warned ferry crossings from ports such as Liverpool and Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, provide another route to escape the Rwanda deportation plan.

Facilitators often act as up for deport crucial conduits between the criminals and those hoping to cross the Channel.