Britain | The small-boat business

How to run a smuggling business

Transporting people across the English Channel is a tough job for an entrepreneur

Migrants try to board a smuggler's inflatable dinghy
Photograph: Getty Images
|Dunkirk

“There are different types of smuggler,” explains an Iranian man who crossed the English Channel in an inflatable boat and was subsequently given asylum in Britain. “Some of the smugglers have a brand. They are famous for using brand-new dinghies, and for using lifejackets. Others are cheap, but not safe at all. They have used faulty dinghies.”

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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “How to run a smuggling business”

From the April 5th 2025 edition

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