Criminals feeding off desperate refugees - report

Refugees desperate to get to Britain are paying organised criminals to teach them how to beat Eurotunnel security, a television investigation has claimed.

The refugees are climbing through razor wire fences, dodging security patrols and risking their lives in a bid to get on channel tunnel trains, an investigation by ITV’s Tonight With Trevor McDonald reported.

Five people have died trying to get on the trains and 50 others have been injured, it said. Eurotunnel claims some 200 try to get through every night.

The company has begun unprecedented legal action to shut down the Sangatte Red Cross refugee camp near Calais, which is next to its rail terminal.

It said it had increased security, including spending £3m on razor wire, more than 100 guards, CCTV cameras and other security equipment, but that the extra measures did not stop the refugees.

And refugee expert John Morrison told the programme that the British Government’s policy on asylum was encouraging the rise in organised crime.

He said the Government needed to accept that ‘‘mafia-style’’ criminals were involved in human trafficking.

Mr Morrison said: ‘‘They are having a field day as there is a market for them.

‘‘As there’s no legal way, there’s a huge demand for illegal ways - and people are desperate.

‘‘Some are because their lives depend on it. Some because of poverty and they are paying huge amounts of money that might mean they are indebted for the rest of their lives.’’

Mr Morrison, who has worked on reports for the Refugee Council and the UNHCR, said the Government needed to set up a controlled system of entry.

He told the programme: ‘‘We need to take a sensible look - set up quotas. There needs to be three doors - one for refugees fleeing for their lives, one for economic migrants who are escaping poverty and want to come here and work, and one for family reunion.’’

The programme sent reporter Adam Holloway undercover as a Bosnian asylum seeker to expose how criminal gangs exploited refugees in the camp by taking money to show them the best places to jump on trains.

He said: ‘‘I’m not really surprised Eurotunnel is complaining about the camp.

‘‘Virtually everybody who is in there is trying to get on the trains.’’

Mr Holloway said those who were caught by police patrols simply tried again the next night.

He also went undercover as an asylum seeker in Istanbul to expose the human trafficking gangs working in the staging post for refugees trying to get into Europe.

The programme shows three gangs offering to get him into Europe via Russia, Italy, Germany and Greece, in return for thousands of pounds, including one man who offered him a route into England for almost £6,000.