The new “safe route” offers folks to approach the nation by land through Ireland, owing to counterfeit passports and less strict screening.

Posing as Ukrainian refugees to enter the United Kingdom, taking advantage of weaknesses in border control systems and a wave of support for the current conflict. This is the latest approach used by human traffickers to make it easier for migrants to enter Great Britain.

In addition to the well-known route over the English Channel, a’safer’ path has been established, which incorporates Ireland as the exit point from Europe. A finding made following the British Home Office’s effort, known as “Operation Comby”.

The Common Travel Area (CTA) is essential to the tale, allowing British and Irish individuals to freely travel between the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the Channel Islands. Human traffickers are increasingly using this facility as a “safe corridor” for irregular migrants, utilizing fraudulent documents such as counterfeit Ukrainian passports.

The discovery of this new approach came during an operation at Belfast Airport, where an Iranian individual was apprehended while attempting to board a trip to Britain using a forged Ukrainian passport.

Immigration authorities rapidly identified discrepancies in the documents given, notably the numerous trip stamps that had been expertly forged to demonstrate that the individual had passed various borders. After a few minutes of interrogation, the man admitted to being Iranian, not Ukrainian.According to Jonathan Evans, an inspector with the Immigration Financial and Criminal Investigation Unit in Belfast, this position might be “an easy target” for trafficking gangs operating in Dublin or elsewhere in Europe. “We are using a targeted approach to raise public awareness and disrupt these criminal gangs,” he added.

Investigations have found that criminal organizations sell whole holiday packages for €5,000 to €8,000. These comprise flights from a European location, falsified documents, transportation to Belfast, and a ticket to the final destination in the United Kingdom. “For the traffickers, the real cost is around €1,000, which makes this an extremely profitable business,” Evans told me.

“This Government will not stand by while criminal gangs exploit vulnerable people, endangering their lives and creating false hopes of a better life in the UK,” said Border Security and Asylum Minister Dame Angela Eagle.

“Driven by greed, these gangs have no regard for human life or safety, charging exorbitant fees, preying on those desperate to flee poverty, and forcing them into illegal and dangerous situations.” Dismantling these gangs’ business models extends beyond small boat trafficking; we are also closing off other ways into the UK to guarantee they are punished and their revenues are reduced,” the British minister stated.

Earlier this year, the majority of migrants moved from the United Kingdom to Ireland as a result of the so-called “Rwanda effect,” with the London administration threatening to deport asylum applicants to the African state. Many migrants subsequently fled to Ireland to avoid deportation, and asylum applications increased dramatically, rising from less than 5,000 in 2019 to more than 17,500 by 2023.

Source: Today