UK Targets Balkan Gangs Behind Channel Migrant Crossings

The UK has imposed sanctions on Balkan-based criminal networks and financiers accused of facilitating illegal small boat crossings across the English Channel.

Measures include asset freezes and travel bans aimed at disrupting organized crime groups involved in irregular migration.

The move coincided with Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosting European leaders at a Western Balkans summit to discuss migration management and economic cooperation.

Starmer faces mounting pressure to tackle the surge in Channel crossings, which have already exceeded 35,000 this year and could surpass last year’s record of nearly 46,000.

UK authorities identified a Kosovo-based organized crime group supplying false documents to traffickers, as well as a Croatian gang leader providing counterfeit passports to Balkan networks.

Small boat crossings remain perilous, with numerous fatalities reported, highlighting broader concerns over the asylum system and the UK’s capacity to manage irregular migration.