‘I would rather die at sea than go back to France’
Late on Boxing Day evening, Mahmood, a 38-year-old Iranian migrant living in a tent in Calais, received a text. It was on. As soon as £3,000 was put “on hold” with the smugglers, Mahmood would be given a pickup point, from where he would be taken to a boat. Destination: Britain.
His brother back in Iran moved the money, but he only pays if Mahmood arrives in the UK.
Shortly afterwards Mahmood’s phone buzzed again. He studied a map and started walking.
Accompanied by four friends, he found a man waiting in a car.
Forty minutes later, almost certainly to the west of Calais, the group was deposited on a beach and told to get into a small dinghy by a smuggling gang member who they believe was from Afghanistan.
The dinghy was designed for seven people, but that night, 11 migrants got on board. A 12th man, a smuggling gang member who called himself Bruce Lee because of his Asian appearance, would be the driver.
The migrants claim that “Bruce Lee” navigated the boat through French waters and halfway across the Channel, before jumping on to a second boat that was shadowing them.
He then brandished a pistol, told them to get on their way and headed back to France.
Ingrid Parrot, from the French Naval headquarters for the Channel and North Sea, said: “I have never seen that method before, but at this point, unfortunately nothing surprises me.”
In 2016, there were 23 attempted crossings of the Channel by migrants. In 2017, that number had dropped to 13. So far in 2018, there have been 70, with 292 migrants being rescued at sea or landing in the UK since November.
Since Christmas Eve alone, 94 migrants in 12 boats have attempted to cross the Channel.
“In previous years they have all been individual attempts,” said Ms Parrot. “These crossings are being organised by gangs.”
In November, a joint intelligence centre to share information was set up by the French and British.
The Home Office said the centre would “help with the identification, prosecution and dismantling of the organised crime groups currently behind illegal migration attempts by small boats across the Channel”.
But the French have today asked for more help from the British, after revealing that a paucity of UK rescue ships in the busiest shipping lane in the world meant that French boats have repeatedly entered British waters to rescue groups of migrants.
Ms Parrot told The Sunday Telegraph: “We have been asked to intervene by Dover when there are no British boats nearby. One boat would certainly help ease the pressure on us.”
Back out in the Channel, Mahmood’s boat was spotted by fishing vessels and ferries. A call was put in to the French maritime operation centre and a police boat called Athos was dispatched. Their dinghy had travelled 15 nautical miles (17 miles) north-west of Calais, towards Britain. The shortest distance across the Channel is 18 nautical miles.
“When we were picked up, I thought they were British. I thought we had made it,” said Mahmood back in the Calais camp yesterday.
“I couldn’t believe it. How could a French boat go that close to Britain? We were told that once we were in British waters, that we would be OK. That we would make it to the UK.”
Once on board Athos, Mahmood and his fellow travellers say they were put in handcuffs and taken back to France.
The Sunday Telegraph tried to verify the claims, and was told by authorities that police do carry and use handcuffs on their boats because sometimes the migrants become aggressive. They could not confirm whether handcuffs were used in this particular incident.
“I would rather die at sea than be rescued by the French again,” says Mahmood.
Another police raid in the morning, which The Sunday Telegraph witnessed, saw around 30 armed officers dismantle tents and throw them into a truck.
They could be heard laughing and joking as blankets were tossed away and fires were extinguished. Afghan migrants tried to lighten the mood by playing music. Half an hour later they drove away in nine vans and a police car, leaving the camp inhabitants to once again rebuild their shelters.
Just two days ago, a family of four had to go to hospital, after a two-yearold boy burnt his hand on the fire. When they returned, their tent had been taken away and they had been left with nothing but discarded dolls, toy cars and shoes. Now they have been put up in a hostel in Calais. They are the lucky ones.
“You wonder why we travel by boat?” said Asghar, an Iranian who has tried to cross twice. “No one has died, and many have made it. What is not to believe it is not safe,” he added.
Along with physical and psychological pressure from police, the latest spike has apparently been driven by mild weather, the mistaken perception that there will be less border staff during the Christmas holidays and looming Brexit.
“It is Brexit they keep talking about,” says Hassan, another Iranian.
“After the border closes it’s a big problem for us. There will be so much more security. They show us the evidence that people make it to England. They show us the news.
“Then they tell us that we only have to pay when we make it to England. If we don’t make it, no problem, we try again in a few days.”
Warming his hands on the fire, Mahmood chimes in: “My £3,000 is still there. Soon I hope it will be with the smugglers. Because that will mean I have made it.”
‘You wonder why we travel by boat? No one has died, and many have made it’