ARIANE CRAFTS ANALYSIS

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The Influx of Criminals and the Danger to Communities

Dear readers,

Good morning!

Today I started my early morning by reading the newspapers. My newspaper of choice for this Saturday was the Daily Mail.

I was not surprised to see another story about illegal migration into the UK, but I am surprised how surfaced it was, and how based on the victim in Lebanon ( more in sort of gossip) than in the extremely scary prospect of future victims here in the UK.

The case of Ibrahim Ghazal, if proven, underscores the serious risk that individuals fleeing serious charges abroad may exploit the UK porous borders to evade justice and potentially harm us here. Such cases can erode public trust in border security and raise questions about the effectiveness of existing checks and balances.

Beyond individual high-profile cases such as the one named above brought to our attention via the Daily Mail, official reports and parliamentary debates acknowledge the risk. The National Crime Agency (NCA) notes that “entering the UK illegally prevents law enforcement from conducting criminal record or security checks, meaning we don’t know who they are or what risk they pose to the UK.” This lack of intelligence is a critical vulnerability. Moreover, the Home Office and other agencies frequently highlight the link between organised immigration crime and other forms of criminality, highlighting that the revenue generated from people smuggling often funds wider criminal enterprises.

The danger extends beyond direct violence. Communities can experience an increase in various forms of crime, including drug trafficking, modern slavery, and exploitation. The vulnerability of irregular migrants themselves, often forced into illicit work or debt bondage by the very gangs who facilitated their entry, can create a fertile ground for criminal networks to thrive, impacting local safety and social cohesion.

How they acquire and use your British National Insurance Numbers and Passports

Criminals entering the UK often seek to establish a seemingly legitimate identity to facilitate their activities, and access to a National Insurance Number (NIN) and British passport is highly desirable.

National Insurance Numbers (NINs): Acquiring a NIN, which is essential for working legally and accessing certain benefits in the UK, is a key step for individuals seeking to blend into society or establish a financial footprint. Criminals can employ various methods:

  1. Identity Theft and Fraudulent Applications: The most common method involves identity fraud. Criminals may steal personal details through phishing scams, physical theft of documents, or by obtaining information from compromised databases. They can then use these stolen identities to apply for NINs, often exploiting systems that rely on self-declaration or less rigorous verification for initial applications.
  2. Exploitation of Vulnerable Individuals: Unscrupulous employers or criminal gangs may coerce or trick vulnerable individuals (including autistic and mentally ill) into providing their NINs for illicit purposes, such as processing false payslips or claiming benefits under their name, while the actual worker is paid cash in hand. British Autistic and people with mental health problems are particularly at increased risk of also being enslaved by these gangs applying to be their guardians. Once they are their guardians they employ autistic in the same manner as they employ illegals, without the knowledge nor approval of the British authorities. All these while receiving PIP on behalf of the autistic adult and children.
  3. Abuse of Legitimate Processes: While a NIN is typically issued to those with a right to work in the UK, loopholes or fraudulent documentation presented during application processes can be exploited. For instance, if a criminal acquires a false identity document that passes initial checks, they might then use it to apply for a NIN.

Once acquired, a NIN can be used to:

  • Obtain illegal employment, often in the “black economy,” allowing criminals to generate income without official scrutiny.
  • Access public services or benefits they are not entitled to, draining public resources.
  • Launder money through seemingly legitimate employment.
  • Build a false financial history that can then be leveraged for further fraudulent activities, such as applying for credit.

British Passports: Possession of a British passport provides significant advantages for international travel and establishing a solid identity. Criminals typically acquire these through:

  1. Theft and Purchase of Genuine Documents: Stolen genuine passports are highly valuable on the black market. Individuals may have their passports stolen during burglaries, street robberies, or even through sophisticated organised crime operations targeting mail or processing centres. These documents are then sold to criminals who may alter them or use them for individuals with a similar appearance.
  2. Fraudulent Applications: This involves submitting applications for passports using false identities or stolen biographical data. This can range from using completely fabricated documents to manipulating genuine documents. Malicious reports of a passport being lost or stolen, made by someone other than the legitimate holder, can also lead to the cancellation of a valid passport, potentially paving the way for a fraudulent new application.
  3. Grooming and Coercion: In some cases, criminals might groom or coerce legitimate passport holders into “losing” their documents or providing them for a fee, knowing they will be used for illicit purposes.
  4. Counterfeiting and Forgery: While the UK passport has high security features, skilled counterfeiters can produce convincing forgeries or alter genuine documents to change key details like photographs. The NCA notes that “False identity documents remain a key enabler of organised immigration crime.”

A British passport allows criminals to:

  • Travel internationally, evading border controls and facilitating cross-border criminal enterprises, such as drug smuggling or human trafficking.
  • Establish a credible identity within the UK, aiding in the opening of bank accounts, renting properties, and conducting other activities that require robust identification, all of which can be used to further criminal aims or launder illicit gains.
  • Evade detection by law enforcement by presenting a seemingly legitimate identity.

Grooming and Escaping DNA Detection

Criminals employ sophisticated methods to groom individuals and avoid leaving forensic evidence, particularly DNA, which could link them to crimes.

Grooming for Escape and Exploitation: Grooming, traditionally associated with sexual abuse, is a broader tactic used by criminals to manipulate individuals for various purposes, including facilitating their escape from justice or maintaining control over their illicit activities. This can involve:

  1. Building Trust and Dependence: Criminals, especially those engaged in organised crime, may establish relationships with vulnerable individuals, including autistic or those struggling financially. They offer help, accommodation, or employment, creating a sense of indebtedness or reliance.
  2. Creating a “Safe” Environment for Illicit Activities: By grooming individuals or communities, criminals can establish safe houses, transport networks, or distribution hubs where their activities can occur with reduced risk of detection. The groomed individuals might be persuaded to remain silent, provide false alibis, or even participate in the criminal enterprise themselves, often under threat or coercion.
  3. Exploiting Cultural or Language Barriers: For individuals who do not speak English well or are unfamiliar with the UK’s legal system, grooming can involve presenting false information about their rights or the consequences of reporting criminal activity, making them easier to control.
  4. Financial Indebtedness: Criminals often create debt bondage, where individuals are forced to work off a perceived debt (e.g., for travel costs) under exploitative conditions. This control ensures silence and compliance.

Escaping DNA Detection: DNA evidence is a powerful tool for law enforcement, but criminals employ various tactics to avoid leaving their DNA at crime scenes or to prevent it from being entered into databases:

  1. Prevention at the Crime Scene: The simplest method is to prevent the deposit of DNA. This includes:
    • Wearing protective clothing: Gloves, full-body suits, and masks can prevent the shedding of skin cells, hair, and saliva.
    • Cleaning surfaces: Wiping down surfaces with bleach or other cleaning agents can degrade or remove DNA evidence.
    • Controlling bodily fluids: Avoiding activities that might leave saliva (e.g., spitting, drinking from bottles), blood, or other bodily fluids.
  2. Avoiding Arrest and Fingerprinting/DNA Swabbing: The UK police have extensive powers to take DNA samples from individuals arrested for recordable offences. Therefore, avoiding arrest is the most direct way to prevent DNA from entering the National DNA Database (NDNAD). Criminals who have entered the country undetected will not have their DNA on file, making it harder to link them to future crimes if only DNA evidence is found.
  3. Operating Through Proxies: Organised crime groups may use lower-level operatives or victims of exploitation to carry out direct criminal acts, thus shielding the masterminds whose DNA would not be at the scene.
  4. False Identities: Even if arrested, if a criminal is operating under a false identity and manages to avoid being linked to their true identity, their DNA sample might be logged under the false name, complicating cross-referencing with international databases or prior criminal records.

The critical issue, as highlighted by the quoted Daily Mail claim, is that individuals who enter the UK via irregular routes, such as small boats, often bypass the usual comprehensive checks that would include criminal record and biometric (including DNA) screening. If their DNA is not taken or not linked to their true identity upon arrival, they effectively operate “off-grid” from a forensic perspective, making subsequent investigations more challenging.

Exploitation by Gangs and Employers

The presence of individuals without legal status or documentation in the UK creates a highly vulnerable population ripe for exploitation by both criminal gangs and unscrupulous employers.

Exploitation by Gangs: Organised criminal gangs profit enormously from human trafficking and modern slavery. They exploit individuals who have entered the UK illegally, often by:

  1. Debt Bondage: Charging exorbitant fees for facilitating travel to the UK, then forcing individuals to work off this “debt” in exploitative conditions with little or no pay. This debt can be passed down through families, creating a cycle of exploitation . This is achieved by forcing the illegal to seduce women with legal status and have children, who will be more vulnerable to sexual and gang abuse.
  2. Forced Labor: Compelling individuals to work in various illicit or legitimate industries, including cannabis farms, car washes, construction, agriculture, nail bars, and hospitality, under appalling conditions and for minimal or no wages. The individuals are often housed in overcrowded and unsafe accommodations, their movements restricted.
  3. Criminal Activities: Forcing individuals into criminal activities such as drug dealing (e.g., “county lines”), shoplifting, or even sexual exploitation, often threatening their families back home or their safety in the UK if they refuse.
  4. Identity Document Fraud: As mentioned earlier, gangs may exploit individuals to acquire or misuse their identity documents for various fraudulent purposes.
  5. Controlling Information: Preventing individuals from accessing support services, legal advice, or even learning English, thus maintaining their dependence and fear of reporting.

Exploitation by Employers: Certain employers exploit undocumented or vulnerable workers to cut costs and gain an unfair advantage in the market. This can involve:

  1. Underpayment or Non-Payment of Wages: Paying significantly below the minimum wage or not paying at all, knowing that undocumented workers are unlikely to report them due to fear of deportation.
  2. Poor Working Conditions: Subjecting workers to unsafe, unsanitary, and excessively long working hours, without proper breaks or safety equipment.
  3. Withholding Documents: Confiscating passports or other identity documents to prevent workers from leaving or seeking help, effectively trapping them in servitude.
  4. Threats of Deportation: Using the worker’s irregular immigration status as leverage, threatening to report them to immigration authorities if they complain or attempt to leave.
  5. Dodging Taxes and Regulations: By employing undeclared workers, these employers avoid paying National Insurance contributions and taxes, distorting competition and depriving the public purse. The government has recently increased efforts to crack down on illegal working, extending checks to the gig economy and increasing fines for rogue employers.

The interconnectedness of these issues creates a challenging environment for law enforcement and social services. Criminals who evade detection upon entry can become embedded in communities, perpetuating further crimes and exploiting vulnerable individuals. The lack of proper vetting at borders, the ease with which fraudulent documents can be acquired or misused, and the systemic vulnerabilities that allow exploitation to flourish all contribute to the significant dangers posed to communities across the UK.

I want to conclude but I am hesitant to scare you further!

The presence of criminals entering the UK, particularly through irregular and unvetted channels, poses a genuine and multi-faceted threat to national security and community safety. The case of Ibrahim Ghazal is a stark reminder of the potential for individuals fleeing serious crimes abroad to exploit asylum systems and irregular migration routes to evade justice. The methods these individuals employ, including the acquisition of National Insurance Numbers and passports through fraud or exploitation, the sophisticated use of grooming to escape detection, and their ability to operate without leaving traceable DNA evidence, highlight significant vulnerabilities in current border security and enforcement mechanisms.

Furthermore, the systemic exploitation of vulnerable individuals by organised criminal gangs and unscrupulous employers exacerbates the problem, creating a shadow economy and perpetuating cycles of abuse. Addressing this complex issue requires a multi-pronged approach encompassing robust border security, intelligence-led law enforcement, international cooperation to prevent criminals from entering the UK, and effective measures to identify, protect, and support victims of exploitation. Without a comprehensive strategy, the concerns about the dangers posed by such individuals to British communities will continue to resonate.

We can only hope that women and men using online dating sites, autistic and isolated people advertising for carers, cleaners, advocates and friends, vulnerable children ringing supposed charity hot lines, senior citizens placing their homes in the market via apparently honest estate agents, vulnerable neighbors in our communities do not cross these illegals and their associated paths.

But how can they avoid if these unknown elements are everywhere and acting in groups mostly unknown to the British authorities?

Perhaps I should have chosen a better time to publish this article, not on a Saturday early morning, but late in the night, and preferably during Halloween!

Case to say : Good night, Don’t let the nightmare give you a heart attack in your sleep!

Best wishes,

Ariane Crafts

Bibliography

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