Interpol’s ‘most wanted’ criminals ARE among the Channel migrants landing on Britain’s beaches

Criminals hunted by Interpol for serious crimes have entered Britain on Channel crossings.

A number of wanted individuals subject to ‘red notices’ have been identified among small boat migrants, the Mail can disclose.

In addition, immigration offenders who have previously been deported have re-entered the UK by boat and ended up at the Home Office’s beleaguered Manston processing centre.

Sources told the Mail that some red notice offenders had also been taken to the Kent facility – although this was denied by the Home Office last night.

A number of wanted individuals subject to ‘red notices’ have been identified among small boat migrants, the Mail can disclose

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It has long been feared that criminals could be taking advantage of illegal crossings to enter the country. The revelation that fugitives are exploiting the Channel crisis to reach Britain will now raise serious questions about the UK’s porous borders.

Of primary concern will be the possibility that criminals can arrive undetected aboard boats and disappear, as about 80 migrants managed to do at Shakespeare beach, near Dover, on October 23. It was unclear last night how many criminals who have been able to enter the country were housed at the Manston base, near Ramsgate, and whether they had later been moved to hotels around the country. But sources said ‘dozens’ of foreign nationals who had previously been deported had been found re-entering Britain by small boat from northern France.

The Mail has reported how an Albanian man convicted of murder and firearms offences in Greece had been allowed to continue his asylum claim after arriving here by small boat.

Mariglen Soshari, 31, is now in jail after being hauled before Folkestone magistrates on Thursday where he was handed a 60-day sentence for entering the UK illegally. He arrived in Kent on a small boat last month and filled in a questionnaire at the Manston facility where he detailed his previous convictions. The court heard he applied for asylum on October 12, two days after his arrival – and that his application would continue.

The Mail can reveal that 60 per cent of Manston’s 2,500-strong population is Albanian. Of those, eight out of ten are young men. In another worrying development, toys donated by charities to children held at Manston have been confiscated by men who have used plastic and metal parts to construct makeshift blades.

In some cases, security guards at the centre have been attacked.

It comes as an investigation by the BBC revealed yesterday how Albanian drug gangs are using migrant camps in northern France as a recruitment ground – even offering to pay for the passage of those prepared to work in the drugs trade when they reach Britain. One gang member assured an undercover reporter it was ‘very easy’ to reach the UK.

Asked for advice on how to claim asylum, the smuggler said in social media messages: ‘You have to invent a reason why you’re here. People usually say they have debts, problems in general.’

It also emerged yesterday that Home Office contractors have been removed from Manston after trying to sell drugs to asylum seekers. Migrants claimed security staff had offered to sell them cannabis, the Guardian reported.

A Home Office spokesman said the individuals involved were ‘swiftly removed’ and pledged to ‘continue to take robust action’ against errant employees.

A Home Office spokesman said the individuals involved were ‘swiftly removed’ and pledged to ‘continue to take robust action’ against errant employees

Interpol red notices, issued to its 195 member countries, ask law enforcement agencies to ‘locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action’.

According to Interpol’s website 7,116 notices were live yesterday.

The Home Office said Manston ‘remains resourced and equipped to process migrants securely’, including comprehensive background checks. A spokesman said: ‘There is no evidence to suggest anyone with an Interpol red notice has arrived at Manston. Any individual found with a criminal record will be detained… pending their removal from the UK.’