Number of suspected illegal immigrants nabbed at UK border hits record levels
Figures show 34,146 were apprehended last year — almost 100 a day and three per cent up on the 33,026 the year before
THE number of suspected illegal immigrants nabbed at ports and airports trying to enter Britain is at record levels.
Figures show 34,146 were apprehended last year — almost 100 a day and three per cent up on the 33,026 the year before, we can reveal.
Most were caught at Channel ports with border officials using carbon dioxide detectors, heartbeat monitors and sniffer dogs to find them in vehicles.
Others have tried to enter the UK in the wheel casings of aircraft.
Some are allowed to stay, often after lodging a claim for refugee status.
The Home Office said the figures, obtained under Freedom of Information rules, show “our approach to securing the UK’s border is working”.
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It said officials were targeting people smuggling gangs with the help of cops worldwide.
Migration Watch UK said the figures do not show how many failed asylum claimants are removed.
It claimed there were more than a million illegals in the UK.
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