Migrant 'mega dinghies' longer than double-decker bus rake in £300,000 a Channel crossing

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Jul 30, 2026 - 07:59

Migrant 'mega dinghies' longer than double-decker bus rake in £300,000 a Channel crossing

People-smuggling gangs deploying mega dinghies longer than double-decker buses to ferry migrants across the English Channel are said to be generating as much as £300,000 a crossing.

The latest vessel – a 42-foot inflatable carrying a record 165 migrants – was intercepted by UK authorities last week after making the crossing from northern France.

Based on estimates from border experts, migrants typically pay around £2,000 each for a Channel crossing – meaning a boat carrying 165 passengers could generate a staggering £330,000 in revenue before costs.

A 19-year-old Sudanese national, Chan Mathok Atak, has appeared before Margate Magistrates' Court charged with endangering lives after allegedly piloting the inflatable.

Prosecutors described the overcrowded boat as poorly constructed, already beginning to deflate when it was intercepted – highlighting the increasingly dangerous tactics being used by organised criminal networks.

The court heard the boat was "dangerously overcrowded" and unfit for such a journey – with migrants often being pulled from the water after boats go down.

When migrants first began arriving by small boat in significant numbers in 2018, the average vessel carried fewer than seven people.

By 2022, that figure had risen to 41 – while this year the average stands at nearly 66 passengers per boat.