Tag: UK

UK Mirror: Turkish gangs smuggling Syrians into UK and other European countries

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
Mirror graphic showing one smuggling route.

The invasion of Europe continues!

The UK Mirror has an incredibly detailed story today about how human trafficking gangs are moving Syrians into Europe and making millions doing it.   No surprise! Turkey is one of their transit points and the leader of the gang profiled here is a Palestinian.

The amount of money these “refugees” have in their personal bank accounts again raises questions for me about who these people really are and I’ve become a cynic about the beatings, rapes, and imprisonment stories the “asylum seekers” tell.

Here is how the Mirror story begins, but you must read the whole report, they have done a lot of work on this.  Emphasis is mine:

A people-trafficking gang raking in millions of pounds by bringing hundreds of Syrian refugees into the UK is today exposed by the Sunday Mirror.

The gang in Istanbul, Turkey, told our undercover investigators that for £34,000 they would smuggle three men here from Syria using false ­passports and minders. [One British pound is equal to $1.62 US dollars at the moment.—ed]

We had earlier met a Syrian woman who used her life savings to pay the gang to help her flee after being tortured in her home country.

The teacher, who we are calling Ishtar to protect her identity, is now living in southern England.

She told how traffickers got her from Turkey to Britain after handing her a false ­passport.

She was flown to Austrian capital Vienna, driven to Sweden, then caught a BA flight to the UK.

The gang’s activities raise serious concerns that terrorist organisations such as al-Qaeda could use similar tactics to sneak jihadists into Europe.

We were alerted to the criminal ­organisation by an anonymous phone call to our London offices.

Our investigator was warned: “This trade is making millions for Turkish gangs.

“They have fixers around Europe and in the UK flying people across Europe. They have people working in airports who look the other way.

“They are taking Syrians to Italy, Holland and the Scandinavian countries, but Britain is the most expensive. On landing, the Syrian asks for asylum.

Read it all!  The graphic is further explained.  Imagine having a ticket in Istanbul for Lebanon, but airport personnel allow the Syrian to get on a plane to Austria instead!

Our ever-expanding archive on Syrian refugees is here.

Just imagine! Something you will not see in Obama’s America

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
Photo: Rick Findler

You have probably all seen this by now, but it is worth showing again.

The British government, in apparent desperation, is considering placing more vans like this one around the country.

The UK Telegraph story begins with this:

 ‘Go Home’ vans could be introduced across Britain, the Immigration Minister has said.

The controversial vans, which carry posters telling illegal migrants to leave the country or face arrest, could appear in more British cities following a trial in London, Mark Harper said.

Read it all.

Britain plagued by immigrant welfare “tourists”

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

What can you expect when a country is larded over with one program after another to help the so-called downtrodden?  In the US, we too have increasingly developed and expanded programs for the destitute—I’m thinking specifically of food stamps and medicare/medicaid (Obamacare!)—where some sharp ‘entrepreneur’ has figured out, or will figure out, how to game the system.

Remember those NHS dancing nurses in the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics? Was it one colossal advertisement to the world—come on over for your free healthcare!

Here are two stories from the UK over the last week that tell us how ‘out of control’ things are there.  The second story reports on attempts by Parliament to rein-in “health tourism” by immigrants who are arriving illegally to get benefits from Britain’s great attraction—its National Health Service.

From the UK Telegraph (“Gang flew in benefit tourists!”):

An immigrant gang flew in scores of ‘benefit tourists’ to Britain, setting them up with houses and jobs, so they could steal hundreds of thousands of their tax credits.

A family of immigrants posed as interpreters to fly benefit tourists over to Britain so they could steal their tax credits, cheating HMRC out of £500,000.

The group flew in people from Eastern Europe and set them up in a house and low-paid job in exchange for their tax credits, which they pocketed.

Sisters Iveta and Magdalena Ferkova, 32 and 33, along with their aunt Alena Lackova, 39, and her husband Jan Lacko, 29, organised National Insurance numbers and housing to complete the scam over two years.

They managed to steal £500,000 in tax credits from HMRC, posing as interpreters for the workers they flew over when doing interviews in banks and at job centres.

All four were found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud by making false representations.

Read it all.

And, here Parliament is considering a new law to restrict health tourism!

From Catholic Online:

LONDON, UK (Catholic Online) – If you are a foreigner visiting England, be prepared to show proof of citizenship before being given a NHS number, the item you need to receive free health services in the country.

A bill designed to cut down on health tourists and illegal immigration has been presented to Parliament as part of a package designed to crack down on people who are residing in the country illegally.

According to the bill, doctors will first have to check the immigration status of a patient who does not have a NHS number before they are authorized to provide treatment. Naturally, the proposal has doctors, among others upset. Doctors resent that they could be forced to participate in immigration enforcement.

Others say that healthcare should be provided no matter what. Defenders of the bill say that emergency care is still ensured.

England has become a destination for health tourists, foreigners who travel to the country to have procedures done for various reasons. These health tourists then receive the benefits of the national healthcare system but without having to pay any of the costs. To break down this practice, Parliament would pass a law that would ensure they must pay to access the system.

Pay attention America!

 

Calais Syrian stalemate continues as French and Brits trade barbs

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

It seems a French Member of the European Parliament said she believes that since the Syrians occupying the port of Calais want to go to the UK, they should be let in!   MEP Gerard Batten (Independence Party member) shot back with the truth one rarely hears regarding political asylum and why the Syrians want to be allowed into the UK.  For new readers, our original post is here.

UK Independence party representative Gerard Batten: Don’t offload your problem on us!

From the story at the UK Daily Mail (emphasis mine):

French politicians have been accused of trying to ‘offload’ Syrian refugees on Britain in a growing row over who should give them asylum.

Scores of Syrians have occupied the Calais ferry terminal including a dozen who are on hunger strike and two threatening to kill themselves if they are not given safe passage to Britain.

But a French MEP has come under fire after urging the European Parliament to back their call to be allowed into Britain.

If you have been wondering why the Syrians aren’t satisfied with France, here is the long and short of it:

Unlike Britain, France does not pay benefits to asylum seekers while their claims are being processed. About 40 Syrians have refused to move from a passenger gangway.

Batten to the rescue with several major points!

Mr Batten, the UK Independence Party’s spokesman on security and defence, said later: ‘The suggestion that Syrian refugees in Calais should be sent post-haste to England is absolutely outrageous.

‘These people have made their way across Europe with the intention of landing up in the UK. This is contrary to the UN Convention on Refugees that says they should seek refuge in the first safe country they come to.  [Important point #1 and it is rarely mentioned by anyone!—ed]

‘They want to come to Britain because of our reputation as a soft touch. [Important point #2—ed] They may indeed be refugees, but they are attracted to Britain because of the generous housing, benefits, and social services systems made available to foreigners.

‘If the French have not prevented their entry into France, as they were entitled to do under the Convention [Important point #3, the French let them into France—ed], then the French should offer them asylum, not try to offload the problem onto the UK.’

Germany’s Friedrich and now Britain’s Gerard Batten, could we be seeing the beginning of a trend?

Syrians in Calais update: this should scare the Brits to death!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is a short follow-up to our post yesterday about the days-old stalemate at the port of Calais in France where Syrian “refugees” are refusing to accept an offer of asylum by France because they want to get to the UK.  One woman demonstrator is quoted in the UK Express:

A woman, who would not give her name, said: “The procedures to claim asylum are far simpler and quicker in Britain. Once there we will be well treated and can bring our families, too. We can start new lives in Britain.”

This reminds me, did any of you read David Goodhart’s ‘The British Dream?’