'No surprise' migrants using fake passports to get through Channel Tunnel, Home Office source tells Sky News

As a Sky News investigation reveals the business model of a people smuggler claiming to use fake documents to bring migrants via the Channel Tunnel, we have spoken to an officer who formerly worked in border control who says staff felt "overwhelmed".

The officer – who worked extensively within Border Force in the UK and Europe – claims there are staff shortages and told us they believe there needs to be continuing investment in training and technology to help with the sheer volume of passengers coming through the Channel Tunnel.

A separate source – a civil servant at the Home Office who works in immigration and asylum enforcement – told us it was "no surprise" the Channel Tunnel is being targeted.

"We deal with people in immigration cases who tell us they came through the Channel Tunnel using fake passports," they said.

"Some of them actually say that they saw a customs officer or a Border Force officer and they presented the document and they allowed them through."

'There's potential for people to slip through'

Our investigation shows an Albanian people smuggler claiming that for £24,000 he can arrange for a migrant to be brought to London in the passenger seat of a £100,000 Range Rover.

The officer who formerly worked within border control told us: "It's very difficult, but if somebody's managing to get through and they're that confident that they can sit openly in the car, then you have to ask yourself, is it the technology, or is it the officer on the desk?

"The pressures that staff are under are immense. At times it can be overwhelming. You might look at a vehicle and think, 'Okay, it's a British vehicle – they're coming home.'

"So you may well then consider that actually it's British vehicles, so it's less likely there'll be anybody in the vehicle that would potentially be an imposter."

Passing through border control, documents are scanned, and there may be additional checks.

The officer said: "If an officer's looking out the window and there’s a lot of traffic and it's up on the board saying 'waiting times are X amount of time', it's going to put pressure on them to think, 'Well, I need to get them through more quickly.'

"But I guess it's always in the back of your mind that it's so busy there’s potential for people to slip through. But we always did our best to make sure that we checked everybody as thoroughly as we possibly could using the technology that we had available to us."

How smugglers try to game the system

Both of our sources told us the technology at border controls is very good – but they admit it's a constant battle to stay one step ahead of those trying to reach the UK illegally.

The officer who formerly worked within border control said: "Individuals chancing it run a very high risk of getting caught. A lot of people do get stopped. But there are people out there with extensive skills who attempt to bypass document safeguards.

"People may try to use genuine documents, but they are not the person in that document, so the document could be stolen. You get a lot of imposters. It is entirely possible that they [officers] may have missed something from someone in a vehicle that might have looked very similar to the person in the document.

"People are becoming more creative as to how they can circumvent the checks and balances put in place, which means you always have to be on the front foot to stop these people."

The officer who formerly worked within border control told us following a fast-track migrant returns deal between the UK and Albania – designed to deter illegal small boat crossings – they noticed a rise in Albanians and other nationalities trying to reach Britain using fake documents.

They said: "I think it had a big impact. When it’s more difficult to get through one way, people try another."

The Home Office civil servant told us the Channel Tunnel "is still a problem" – but small boat crossings "are taking up a lot of the publicity because that's what you see every day".

Exploitation and debt bondage

Our investigation raises concerns not only about security checks at the Channel Tunnel but also migrants coming to the UK illegally, then working in crime to pay back people smugglers who brought them here.

And in particular, fuelling the drugs trade in Britain.

Those who work in the anti-slavery sector have told us there needs to be a "concerted effort" to "go after criminal gangs".

Justine Carter, deputy CEO at anti-slavery charity Unseen, told us their caseload has risen "exponentially" since 2018, and last year 44% of their cases involved some kind of financial control.

She said: "Debt bondage is used as a deliberate tool to coerce and trap victims through inflated or manipulated debts.

"I'm very concerned about people who sign up to this because I don’t think they understand the repercussions of being here illegally, which creates specific vulnerability.

"In most situations of debt bondage, you never pay off the debt, so you're beholden to that individual crime gang.

"It’s important that we follow the money. Exploitation, debt bondage – it's all about money. And it's absolutely imperative that when we get victim testimony we go after the criminals."

'Now easier for people smugglers to move around'

Dr Andi Hoxhaj, an associate fellow at the RUSI think tank, says there are 3.5 million regular cannabis users in the UK.

He has written a research project on Albanian migrants in the UK.

He says: "My sense is there’s something important missing from the conversation – and that's why in the first place we have a drugs trade and a drug market in the UK. There's a big market that needs drugs to be grown in the UK or transported into the UK."

Dr Hoxhaj says Brexit has impacted the amount of time it takes UK law enforcement agencies to obtain information from European counterparts.

He said: "One of the biggest issues that law enforcement agencies are struggling with is to identify people who have been involved in drug smuggling and other sorts of crime in parts of Europe when they arrive in the UK.

"Now it takes double the time when we used to be part of the EU to get the data and information, and that puts pressure on tackling organised crime and how you identify them so it’s easier for them to move around."

A spokesperson for the Home Office, who are in charge of border checks, said: "We have extensive checks and world-leading technology protecting our borders at the Channel Tunnel. For that reason, the instances of illegal entry through the Channel are extremely small.

"Asylum claims from those entering illegally via lorry or car are down by 25% in the past year, showing our approach is working.

"Those who attempt to cross should be in no doubt you will be removed, with 70,000 people with no right to be in the UK removed since the election."

(c) Sky News 2026: 'No surprise' migrants using fake passports to get through Channel Tunnel, Home Offi