General · 18 May 2026
UK businesses caught handling Channel crossing cash
Migrants are paying people smugglers for illegal Channel crossings through a network of UK-registered businesses. A BBC investigation found staff at a Woolwich phone shop accepting nearly £3,000 cash for transfers to a smuggler in France. The three-month probe also identified a Newcastle wholesale business and a Cambridgeshire car wash for electronic payments.
Reported by BBC · How we write briefs