'Record action' against people-smuggler gangs

August boats 'lowest in years'

- BY SOPHIE HUSKISSON

PEOPLE-SMUGGLING gangs were disrupted a record 347 times last year, a 40% rise in 12 months.

The figures were revealed as Labour's crackdown starts to bear fruit, with National Crime Agency-backed action limiting the boats and engines reaching the French coast.

The Home Office says this helped produce the lowest August for boats crossing the Channel since 2019.