W. Britain: smugglers openly offer a Facebook pass through La Manche

On Wednesday, during one of these crossings in the waters near the French port of Calais, 27 people were killed who were carrying an oversized pontoon.

Following this event, Sky News journalists, posting on Facebook in Arabic and Kurdish such phrases as "smuggler" and "British visa", as well as the names Calais, Dunkirk and England, discovered that people involved in smuggling organization openly operate on social media.

As Sky News describes, there are regular announcements about routes to Europe and the UK, which are illustrated by British flags, pictures of Big Ben or British Airways aircraft and Air France. One of the smugglers even claimed to be able to get customers a British passport.

Sky News presented some of the found announcements. Smugglers place their phone numbers on them and invite people to send them a private message for more information, including costs.

One announcement states that customers will be able to legally enter Britain within three days and the journey will take place in "the best, safest and easiest way."

As Sky News reports, one of the most active smugglers posting Facebook posts is a man who claims to live in the Kurdish region of Iraq. He claims to be able to deliver immigrants to many countries, including the UK, for a "reasonable price". On his Facebook profile, he describes himself as a person who "puts trust over profit" and his picture in the background presents a passport and boarding pass.

He often publishes several announcements a week, many of them with the same content – describes Sky News. In his announcements, he claims to give guarantees, and is also able to arrange a metastasis for "the lowest price and in the shortest time". To encourage potential customers, the smuggler has placed several passports and visas, which he claims he managed to obtain.

Another smuggler posting ads on Facebook advertises that he will be able to get a British passport. The entry is illustrated by pictures of the British flag and Big Ben. His post has 210 likes, and under it appeared almost 30 comments. "Hello, brother, I want to talk to you," writes one of the men. "My dear brother, contact me," the smuggler writes, encouraging him to send a direct private message.

But as Sky News adds, there are also unattractive pictures among the offers found – one of the smugglers simply writes that he can transport people from France to the UK and gives a telephone number, and many announcements are posted on the websites used primarily for another purpose, from general pages to different topics to e-shops.

However, some parties are founded specifically to discuss the smuggling of people and attract people who want to get to Britain and other countries. As Sky News describes, an example is the website of a group called "Smuggling to Europe with a guarantee", which has almost 800 members. Her profile photos and background photos are taken from information services. One of the last posts on this page was published on November 10 and features a video showing migrants in Dunkirk, France.

It's not just smugglers who post ads. Regular users ask for costs and routes. They also share news about other migrants' crossings. One of the men asks if a German visa would allow him to enter the UK, which another responds that this will not work.

As Sky News reminds five months ago, British Home Minister Priti Patel wrote to social media companies, including Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube, indicating that they must do more to remove posts that encourage migrants to dangerous crossings.

In response to a request from Sky News for such announcements, Meta, who owns Facebook, stated: "We are thinking together with all those affected by these tragic events. Coordination of human smuggling is not allowed on Facebook and we work with law enforcement to solve this problem. We use artificial intelligence, human verification and reports from our users and trusted partners to detect and remove posts like this."

Written by Bartłomiej Niedziński/PAP