Small boats criminals to face world's first sanctions regime targeting smugglers

Criminals responsible for dangerous small boat crossings will have their assets seized and be banned from travelling to the UK.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy will unveil a string of new powers targeting gangsters - the first of their kind in the world. Smugglers who supply fake passports and small boat parts will be among around 20 individuals hit with tough sanctions on Wednesday.

Ministers hope the move will help deliver a hammer blow to an industry which has grown to be worth over £10billion a year in the last five years. UK firms who deal with sanctioned individuals will face hefty fines worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Mr Lammy said: “For too long, criminal gangs have been lining their corrupt pockets and preying on the hopes of vulnerable people with impunity as they drive irregular migration to the UK. We will not accept this status quo."

And Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The new sanctions regime marks a decisive step in our fight against the criminal gangs who profit from human misery. It will allow us to target the assets and operations of people-smugglers wherever they operate, cutting off their funding and dismantling their networks piece by piece."

The Government said those in the first wave of targets will include gang leaders and middlemen who facilitate payments. It comes days after a landmark treaty was signed with Germany - where gangs have been found to store small boat components - to work together on people smuggling.

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