Channel people smuggler reveals how French police watch them launching migrant boats
A CHANNEL people smuggler has revealed how French police watch them launching flimsy boats full of migrants and say: “Take them to England.”
He also said uncaring cops have not arrested any of the near 600 traffickers operating in camps along the coast.
And he told how the smuggling gangs make a fortune from their deadly trade — and even offer free crossings to desperate women and girls in return for sex.
The crook, who has been convicted, spoke to The Sun on Sunday after he was sickened by the drowning deaths of four migrants in the freezing Channel last week.
The Kurd, known only as Tofan to protect his identity, told us: “Gangs say the French police are the best in the world.
“There’s nearly 600 smugglers in the camps around here and not one has been arrested.”
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Tofan said that every night nearly 200 migrants travel by bus from the Grande-Synthe camp in Dunkirk to the beach dunes of Plage de Leffrinckoucke.
They pay between £5,000 and £10,000 each to the smugglers to facilitate the dangerous crossing, with around eight inflatable dinghies setting sail each night.
He said French police watch as they make their way into a forest to wait for a weather window to start their perilous journey.
Meanwhile, around 100 armed gangsters sit in the bushes, drinking cans of strong lager.
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Tofan said: “The police just watch them go into the forest.
“The only time they do anything is when they hear French and they think they are being recorded by a journalist. Otherwise they tell gangs ‘bonne chance’ — meaning good luck in English.”
Smugglers, often brandishing machetes or guns, attract migrant customers via videos they post on social media site TikTok.
Some even show them blowing up dinghies and launching them.
Tofan said: “The police just allow them to do that. For show, they sometimes puncture the boats.
“It’s to show the world they are doing their job. But that’s only if there are women and children on board as some do have a heart.
“If it’s all men, they say, ‘Take them to England’.”
'All they care about is the cash'
Tofan revealed he has previously lived in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, after claiming asylum in the UK.
But he fled the country after being arrested for assault.
In 2010, he was convicted in a French court for people smuggling and was jailed for six years.
In 2017, he was convicted for assault using a machete following a fight with another smuggler. Tofan was jailed for nine years but served less than half his sentence for his good behaviour in prison.
Explaining why he has decided to speak out, he said: “I know I’ve profited from people smuggling.
“I know I’ve done many things wrong but the boats were not as flimsy and there wasn’t as many people — no women and children.
Now there are rogue gangs, many many little ones who don’t care about people’s safety.
“All they care about is the cash. It’s worse than ever.
“It needs to stop and I want the police to start taking action.
“My mother rang me crying when those people died in the Channel this week, asking me to help stop it. They are sending people to their deaths.
“The Prime Minister Rishi is a good man. He needs to work with the French but they just don’t care.
“They say it’s the UK’s problem. Why won’t they stop it?”
'No respect for human life'
When our reporter visited the people trafficking hotspot on the coast in northern France, they found babygrows and kids’ armbands among tiny discarded boats and hundreds of lifejackets.
Tofan, a 33-year-old dad, told us: “The police even clean it up for smugglers. You see this? That’s a mound of lifejackets and pumps piled up in a neat corner.”
He also revealed how vile traffickers are exploiting the migrant crisis by waiving expensive fees for desperate women and girls who agree to have sex with them.
Tofan asked us: “How is no one stopping this?”
And he explained how an “army” of smugglers based in Calais and Dunkirk are vying to pick up customers in the migrant camps.
He said Albanian, Afghan and Kurdish criminal kingpins have made millions from the racket — and live a life of luxury in Britain.
Tofan added: “They come to the camps in refugee clothes.
“And as soon as they leave, they change into designer gear.
“They have British passports and drive fancy cars. I used to have an Audi but I have been kicked out of England now after I was arrested for assault and fled.”
Smuggling gang leaders fighting turf wars often arm themselves with guns and knives.
Tofan explained: “The strongest person is able to rise up the ranks of smuggling.
“You can be a ‘big chief’ by fighting. So many nights in the jungle, there’s shoot-outs. I am respected. Everyone has a gun. It’s normal for us to carry AK-47s.”
The jungle is a nickname for the makeshift migrant camps strung out along the French and Belgian border north of Dunkirk.
Tofan, who admitted being lured into smuggling because of the riches it offers, said: “I wanted to speak to you as this is criminal.
“The boat smuggling is too dangerous and I’m sick of the lifestyle.
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“There is no respect for human life and it’s all about the money. It never used to be like this.
“It’s just about getting more and more over to England. They are being sent to their death.”