How fake passports and people smugglers operating out of Calais’ notorious Jungle camp pile pressure on Britain’s borders
For the right price anyone can obtain a forged Syrian passport or driver's licence containing a photograph of themselves
MIGRANTS with fake passports are suspected to be living in the Jungle migrant camp - where 10,000 desperate people hope to one day reach Britain.
Wherever vulnerable people are fleeing war and poverty, people smuggling has boomed and Calais is no exception.
Although the vast majority of migrants are legitimate and go through the proper channels, many are still being preyed on by people smugglers.
Many arrive in France having made their way originally from Iraq or Syria, where jihadis and criminals have made small fortune out of forging passports.
The scams are piling the pressure on officials to ensure border controls are strong enough to distinguish fake documents from the undoubtedly large number of genuine ones.
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However, it is not clear how many could be in the possession of those living in Calais - as authorities refuse to provide figures according to seizure locations.
Many document printing centres were overrun by ISIS during the rapid advances the terrorist group made in 2014.
For the right price, anyone can obtain a forged document featuring a photograph of themselves but claiming Syrian ancestry. Driving licences and identity cards are also on offer.
These are believed to sell for as little as £180, reports, and are carried with the individual first from Turkey to Greece, then along the arduous overland journey to France.
However, crossing the Channel is another matter and fees as high as £12,000 are being spent by people desperate to reach British shores.
Such a figure would land the purchaser a seat on an inflatable boat which departs France and arrives on one of Britain's less populated south-eastern shores.
Recent figures revealed people-smuggling from Calais has doubled in four years, with 214 cases heard in local courts last year.
Tom Dowdall, a deputy director with the NCA's border policing command, recently said: "We're seeing evidence of criminals using less busy ports within the UK.
"We've seen on the east coast evidence from Tilbury and Purfleet, up as far as Hull and Immingham, and on the south coast from Newhaven to Portsmouth, and in some instances beyond that as well."
Figures published by the recently revealed fake passport seizures on British borders reached an all-time high last year: 1,074 were seized.
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