Sanctions will target Channel boat gangs

GANG leaders and companies selling small boat equipment for Channel crossings could face having their assets frozen and being banned from travel to the UK in a bid to crack down on people smugglers.

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The Foreign Secretary has announced a host of sanctions that will be introduced to target anyone involved in assisting illegal immigration to the UK.

This ranges from those involved in supplying and financing small boats, fake passports, and "middlemen" putting cash through the Hawala system, a legal money transfer system, which is also used in payments linked to Channel crossings.

The first wave of sanctions comes into force tomorrow and will publicly name anyone sanctioned, so it will be illegal for UK businesses and banks to deal with them.