jay
11-05-2007, 01:33 AM
Forget Government lies on immigration, this is what's REALLY going on behind our backs
By Mazher Mahmood
HUNCHED down in wasteland near French channel ports, a flock of illegal immigrants wait their turn to be sneaked into Britain.
They are among THOUSANDS flooding in every year with shocking ease.
Today a News of the World investigation uncovers the full extent of the scandal after infiltrating a gang of traffickers who smuggle them in.
Have your say on immigration
Abdul, a Kurdish Mr Fix-it, bragged to our undercover men: "Bringing people to London is easy. The immigration are useless. We still bring in lorries full of people every week. It is a good life here in Britain, there is good money and jobs and people want to come here—always."
Last week red-faced ministers admitted 1.5 million legal foreign workers have surged into Britain since 1997—nearly double their estimate. But their failure to stop the flood of ILLEGALS is the real disgrace.
Roses
Gangmasters like Abdul and an Iraqi Kurd called Zerabi Kaled—known as Zerak—hold the controls of the illegals' floodgates. And their turf is the ports of Calais and Cherbourg.
Calais is the final staging post on the journey to Britain for thousands of Afghans, Eritreans, Iraqis, Pakistanis, Indians, Turks, Sri Lankans, Ethiopians and Chinese who swell the numbers of those here legally.
Many literally arrive smelling of roses —smuggled into the country in the back of lorries hidden behind bunches of FLOWERS from Holland! Because the plants emit oxygen, the human cargo cannot easily be detected by Custom's high-tec equipment.
Zerak boasted: "It's so easy. We've been doing it for five, six years now."
He himself arrived in the UK in the back of a lorry before claiming political asylum. He pockets a fortune by cashing in on the desperation of those queueing in northern France. Over several months, we infiltrated his gang. Once convinced we were genuine, Zerak tried to recruit our men to act as drivers ferrying illegals here at £3,000 a run.
We met him and his burly side-kick Abdul—also known as Mustafa—at a Peterborough service station near his home.
Zerak bragged in broken English: "We have ten drivers working for us. If you go there we can provide the load. We bring in flowers from Holland. In there we put five, six people hiding.
"When they come in the ferry, what you got there, flowers. They ask the company name, they don't check anything."
"We got drivers going and coming sometimes once a week," he added, detailing a network of people traffickers across Europe.
"We give £3,000 each time for going in our lorry. But if it is your lorry we can give you more. One driver has been with us for a year now, we pay him £5,000 everytime. If you have a big lorry you can put 10, 15 people."
Meanwhile Abdul, from Leicester, explained he would personally supervise loading on the illegals in Europe.
He boasted: "I have Netherlands passport and papers. I have got the papers, driving licence, everything. I know which place is best for this business, for the pick up."
Dumped
He said the gang knows of goods yards in Belgium, Holland and Calais where there is no CCTV, making it easy to load illegals.
The men then revealed what happens to the illegals on arrival. Zerak said: "The driver calls me. I bring the van and take them anywhere in England." He told how he'd dumped 25 in a lay-by. "Drop them off anywhere and go," he advised. "I tell the people, get out and wait—I'll be back in one minute. Then straight away I jump in the car and go. Forget about the people, you've done your job. They are here." A former bouncer called Johnny has completed three runs for the gang— despite being caught in Belgium on his first smuggling trip!
He recalled: "There were 11 Chinese in the lorry. I told them I didn't know they were in the back, but they didn't believe me," he said. Despite a year in jail, he was soon ferrying illegals again. "At the end of the day if someone says £3,000 to go over there and come back I want £3k," he said.
On Wednesday, Abdul phoned one of our men. "Are you ready now to bring in people? Tell me when your lorry is in France. We have hundreds waiting to come here." As we arrived in Calais last week, some 20 illegals immediately gathered around our driver hoping the van with British number plates was their route to Britain.
"Are you here to help us go to London," asked Patte Jan, from Kabul. "There are hundreds of us waiting. Are you an agent?"
Shehr Yaar, in his late 20s from Peshawar, added: "We have money to pay to go there. We need to get in lorries to take us over there. Everyone wants to get to London as soon as possible."
We found around 50 bogus refugees sitting in wasteground near a railway line in the centre of Calais.
Jehan from northern Pakistan said: "We have a very tough life here at the moment. But when we get to England it will be okay.
"You get everything there, good money, free houses and free health treatment." Another scruffily dressed Afghan called Mohammed said: "Eight of our brothers managed to get into England three days ago. Inshallah our turn will come too."
The French authorities thought they had solved the refugee nightmare when they slammed the doors of the Red Cross-run Sangatte camp near Calais in 2002. They were wrong.
A new refugee camp recently opened in Cherboug where ferries sail to Southampton and Portsmouth. Dubbed Sangatte 2, it has the blessing of the local mayor. He has even called for the setting up of a "welcome centre" for the immigrants.
Good news for the likes of Zerak and Abdul. Not that life isn't easy enough for them already—thanks to the British government.
By Mazher Mahmood
HUNCHED down in wasteland near French channel ports, a flock of illegal immigrants wait their turn to be sneaked into Britain.
They are among THOUSANDS flooding in every year with shocking ease.
Today a News of the World investigation uncovers the full extent of the scandal after infiltrating a gang of traffickers who smuggle them in.
Have your say on immigration
Abdul, a Kurdish Mr Fix-it, bragged to our undercover men: "Bringing people to London is easy. The immigration are useless. We still bring in lorries full of people every week. It is a good life here in Britain, there is good money and jobs and people want to come here—always."
Last week red-faced ministers admitted 1.5 million legal foreign workers have surged into Britain since 1997—nearly double their estimate. But their failure to stop the flood of ILLEGALS is the real disgrace.
Roses
Gangmasters like Abdul and an Iraqi Kurd called Zerabi Kaled—known as Zerak—hold the controls of the illegals' floodgates. And their turf is the ports of Calais and Cherbourg.
Calais is the final staging post on the journey to Britain for thousands of Afghans, Eritreans, Iraqis, Pakistanis, Indians, Turks, Sri Lankans, Ethiopians and Chinese who swell the numbers of those here legally.
Many literally arrive smelling of roses —smuggled into the country in the back of lorries hidden behind bunches of FLOWERS from Holland! Because the plants emit oxygen, the human cargo cannot easily be detected by Custom's high-tec equipment.
Zerak boasted: "It's so easy. We've been doing it for five, six years now."
He himself arrived in the UK in the back of a lorry before claiming political asylum. He pockets a fortune by cashing in on the desperation of those queueing in northern France. Over several months, we infiltrated his gang. Once convinced we were genuine, Zerak tried to recruit our men to act as drivers ferrying illegals here at £3,000 a run.
We met him and his burly side-kick Abdul—also known as Mustafa—at a Peterborough service station near his home.
Zerak bragged in broken English: "We have ten drivers working for us. If you go there we can provide the load. We bring in flowers from Holland. In there we put five, six people hiding.
"When they come in the ferry, what you got there, flowers. They ask the company name, they don't check anything."
"We got drivers going and coming sometimes once a week," he added, detailing a network of people traffickers across Europe.
"We give £3,000 each time for going in our lorry. But if it is your lorry we can give you more. One driver has been with us for a year now, we pay him £5,000 everytime. If you have a big lorry you can put 10, 15 people."
Meanwhile Abdul, from Leicester, explained he would personally supervise loading on the illegals in Europe.
He boasted: "I have Netherlands passport and papers. I have got the papers, driving licence, everything. I know which place is best for this business, for the pick up."
Dumped
He said the gang knows of goods yards in Belgium, Holland and Calais where there is no CCTV, making it easy to load illegals.
The men then revealed what happens to the illegals on arrival. Zerak said: "The driver calls me. I bring the van and take them anywhere in England." He told how he'd dumped 25 in a lay-by. "Drop them off anywhere and go," he advised. "I tell the people, get out and wait—I'll be back in one minute. Then straight away I jump in the car and go. Forget about the people, you've done your job. They are here." A former bouncer called Johnny has completed three runs for the gang— despite being caught in Belgium on his first smuggling trip!
He recalled: "There were 11 Chinese in the lorry. I told them I didn't know they were in the back, but they didn't believe me," he said. Despite a year in jail, he was soon ferrying illegals again. "At the end of the day if someone says £3,000 to go over there and come back I want £3k," he said.
On Wednesday, Abdul phoned one of our men. "Are you ready now to bring in people? Tell me when your lorry is in France. We have hundreds waiting to come here." As we arrived in Calais last week, some 20 illegals immediately gathered around our driver hoping the van with British number plates was their route to Britain.
"Are you here to help us go to London," asked Patte Jan, from Kabul. "There are hundreds of us waiting. Are you an agent?"
Shehr Yaar, in his late 20s from Peshawar, added: "We have money to pay to go there. We need to get in lorries to take us over there. Everyone wants to get to London as soon as possible."
We found around 50 bogus refugees sitting in wasteground near a railway line in the centre of Calais.
Jehan from northern Pakistan said: "We have a very tough life here at the moment. But when we get to England it will be okay.
"You get everything there, good money, free houses and free health treatment." Another scruffily dressed Afghan called Mohammed said: "Eight of our brothers managed to get into England three days ago. Inshallah our turn will come too."
The French authorities thought they had solved the refugee nightmare when they slammed the doors of the Red Cross-run Sangatte camp near Calais in 2002. They were wrong.
A new refugee camp recently opened in Cherboug where ferries sail to Southampton and Portsmouth. Dubbed Sangatte 2, it has the blessing of the local mayor. He has even called for the setting up of a "welcome centre" for the immigrants.
Good news for the likes of Zerak and Abdul. Not that life isn't easy enough for them already—thanks to the British government.