A ruthless people smuggler last night boasted to an undercover Mail on Sunday reporter that he had no concerns about the French police because they rarely did anything to stop his criminal enterprise.
The Syrian trafficker was demanding £1,200 for a place on an inflatable boat leaving from northern France on Tuesday.
Asked whether French gendarmes will intervene, the brazen gang boss said: ‘They don’t do anything. Do not worry. I am the police. I do everything. Get to my place and I will get you on a boat.’
His comments come as UK and French authorities are braced for people smuggling gangs to launch large numbers of boats across the Channel during a spell of warm weather this week.
Some 15,000 people have arrived in the UK in small boats so far this year – up 42 per cent on the same period in 2024 – with 1,200 arriving on a single day last Saturday, the highest this year.
