Young Albanians are being warned in Home Office adverts that they will be used as “slaves” by organised crime gangs if they enter the UK illegally.
Digital adverts to go live over the next month in Albania aim to deter migrants with “real life” stories of young people who used people smugglers to enter the UK.
One, with sombre background music, features the profile of an Albanian who was “promised a well-paid job” but instead tells the viewers: “I was a slave.”
The advert ends with the warning: “Trying to enter the UK illegally could cost you everything.”
Albanians are warned about the pitfalls of making an illegal Channel crossing
A second features an illegal migrant who says that he owes “a lot of money for the journey,” but adds: “They won’t say how long I need to work for or how much I owe.”
A third tells the viewers: “They said my family would be harmed if I didn’t follow instructions.”
Each ends with the Home Office warning: “Get the facts on illegal migration.”
The Government said the adverts were designed to counter the “myths and misinformation peddled by criminals to dupe people”.
A record 12,000 Albanians crossed the Channel in small boats in 2022. But the number has fallen sharply after the UK and Albanian governments agreed a fast-track returns deal to deport illegal migrants from Britain.
Gangs use social media
Albanian drug gangs have responded to shortages of migrants to work in their UK cannabis farms by openly recruiting farmers on TikTok.
The gang bosses are using social media to advertise for live-in labourers to grow the cannabis crops – and are offering special deals where instead of being paid expenses, they will receive up to 30 per cent of the profits from street sales of the drugs.
Martin Hewitt, head of the new Border Security Command, said: “This campaign helps to break the business model of these criminals and protects people from falling victim to their dangerous lies, securing our borders as part of the Government’s Plan for Change.
“Working closely with international partners like Albania, we are targeting criminal gangs at every step, disrupting their operations across borders, and bringing perpetrators to justice. Communications are a key part of this work, sending a clear message to prospective migrants that these criminals cannot be trusted.”
Albanian gangs have come to dominate the domestic cannabis market, where plants are grown in houses or vacant industrial premises using hydroponic technology imported from farms in their homeland.
In the past decade, they have usurped the Vietnamese as the main suppliers of cannabis to UK users. Similar adverts have been promoted in Vietnam, which now accounts for more Channel migrants than Albania and is among the top five for crossings.
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