Yachts easy way to bring in migrants - ex-smuggler

[newtothis]

This isn't going to help the image of sailors.
Yachts an easy way to bring migrants to UK, says ex-smuggler

 

[dansaskip]

.... and he had the cheek to say that
"he was "angry" he had been jailed for a crime that was still very possible to commit....Convicting him was "pointless"

 

[wonkywinch]

offered to pay Nick £3,500 for every migrant he smuggled into the UK

My boat is coded for 8, minus me, that's almost £25k a pop. Boat will have paid for itself in half a dozen trips. Heck, I could even drop them off at the Weston Parade where a collection of semi permanent campers/caravans seem to be parked now.

 

[Fantasie 19]

This isn't going to help the image of sailors.
Yachts an easy way to bring migrants to UK, says ex-smuggler

What image..

 

[RunAgroundHard]

If you see something suspicious, report it.

Report suspicious behaviour around the UK coastline or at sea: Project Kraken

Report suspicious or unusual behaviour on the coastline or at sea​

Make a report online or call UK Border Watch, powered by Crimestoppers, on 0800 011 3304.

You do not have to give your name when making a report.

In an emergency, always call 999.

 

[capnsensible]

offered to pay Nick £3,500 for every migrant he smuggled into the UK

My boat is coded for 8, minus me, that's almost £25k a pop. Boat will have paid for itself in half a dozen trips. Heck, I could even drop them off at the Weston Parade where a collection of semi permanent campers/caravans seem to be parked now.

I'm sure immigrant smugglers stick to code of practice requirements.

Oh, wait a minute.....

 

[lustyd]

I've explained this to every froth mouthed anti-immigration nut that rants at me about the subject. They bang on about "the border" and I feel compelled to ask them to describe "the border" as I come and go as I please in my yacht. They're usually outraged to realise that "the border" is a theatre production put on at airports and ferry terminals so that muggles think we're in control of something.

Trouble is, if I explain it to one of these people every day it'll take over 20,000 years to get to them all

 

[dolabriform]

Interesting read. In Dover and Ramsgate they are checking yachts that come in from foreign parts. Is that happening up in Harwich and the Essex marinas?

Yachts an easy way to bring migrants to UK, says ex-smuggler

 

[johnalison]

He sounds like a pathetic creep whose proper place is in gaol. To whinge about being convicted for something he admits doing is just ridiculous, but I don’t suppose he sees that. Although he was apparently involved just with ferries, I dare say that some yachts have been used, as with drugs. I would hope that the yachting community see that they need to be part of the vigilance needed, otherwise their own sport will become increasingly restricted. I should perhaps add that my view is about the criminality involved, not the actual human traffic.

 

[Laysula]

Pick em up in Calais and drop em off in Cherbourg. What;s the problem.

 

[ducked]

offered to pay Nick £3,500 for every migrant he smuggled into the UK

My boat is coded for 8, minus me, that's almost £25k a pop. Boat will have paid for itself in half a dozen trips. Heck, I could even drop them off at the Weston Parade where a collection of semi permanent campers/caravans seem to be parked now.

I'd have a bit of a conscience about charging people to inflict The Yook on them.
Whats the going rate for the USA?
Lift your glamp beside the Golden Door

 

[Cerebus]

I can’t believe a skipper (smuggler) would take such a risk.

Boat movements can easily be monitored and patrols can board you so easily and that would be the end of the ‘enterprise’.

 

[justanothersailboat]

An acquaintance of mine in an average older 27 footer had a fairly recent encounter with a border patrol launch which was checking for people smuggling, and I've had a friendly chat with a police boat in the past who seem to have correctly decided I was unlikely to be a drug smuggler, so checks do happen. But with the number of boats around in summer, it must be a tiny fraction of trips.

 

[Biggles Wader]

I can’t believe a skipper (smuggler) would take such a risk.

Boat movements can easily be monitored and patrols can board you so easily and that would be the end of the ‘enterprise’.

My thoughts too. I suspect this is just a nobody talking big to the media and generally attention seeking. I'm sure there must be a tiny criminal element using yachts to carry migrants but the numbers are surely infinitesimally small. My bet is there are more dogs smuggled on yachts than people!

 

[Stemar]

Just like at customs checks at Dover, Portsmouth, etc., a few random checks are done, just to keep people on their toes, and put them off bringing too many bottles or cigs back, but the vast majority of "proper" busts are intelligence-led.

I can see how someone in his position was tempted - I'm broke, and it's easy money, low risk, and no one gets hurt. How many could I fit in Jazzcat? Probably 20 without overdoing it, at £3500 a pop £70K per trip. Hmm.

Nice little earner - until...

But whinging about getting caught when it does go wrong? No, just no.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Our boat is certified for 4 crew for that trip, so not very profitable.

 

[lustyd]

I’m not sure they worry about certification

 

[Trident]

I'm sure its quite easy and common place - I have been back and forth across the channel without ever being boarded and never once on informing the authorities of my return have I had a customs inspection - something my dog owning friends are happy about on their boats too. I suspect turning AIS off would not raise an eyebrow, suspicious as it may seem and heading to a large anchorage (as I almost always do) like Poole or the Dart on return means its almost impossible to be found anyway .

With a 50 foot multihull I'm sure I could get about 25 aboard comfortably , with enough room to serve them aperitifs and nibbles , and not have large queues for the loos. Perhaps I could charge a premium rate for the comfort ? £5K a pop, £125000 a trip , perhaps a million a year in cash for low risk of capture ? Were I both poor and stupid I might be tempted - fortunately i am neither and I'm fairly certain most arrests are made from intelligence not blind luck. The protagonist of the piece was, after all, caught quite quickly twice (have been in French prison first and now the UK)

 

[capnsensible]

My guess is that it's intelligence led. Tip offs, yadda yadda. Plus of course, if you land in any marina or port, there is a plethora of security cameras these days. It might not be quite as easy as people think? But a friend of mine who was a Customs Officer in Gib pointed out that the criminal underclass are mostly stupid or greedy or both.

Lots of countries I've visited by yacht certainly have a higher profile in maritime surveillance but of course that doesn't stop all criminal activity. Certainly many have much harsher punishments for offenders.

 

[Graham376]

Can't find the old thread now but it was about a guy called Greg who, with his uncle, bought a steel 45' boat in Portugal specifically to smuggle immigrants. From what we saw and the questions they asked, they had little if any sailing experience and ran aground before they had even left the Ria. Anyway, they managed to sail or most likely motored to UK and the next year were arrested when unloading (IIRC 29) immigrants in Newlyn, in broad daylight. The whole setup was amateurish from start to finish and they well deserved their porridge.

Huge police operation involving 'immigrants' at port - live updates