How people smuggler used TikTok to promote cross-Channel journeys

Screenshot evidence gathered by police shows how a people smuggler used TikTok to promote cross Channel journeys.

Jaskirat Singh, 25, from Wolverhampton, was sentenced to five years and three months in prison on Thursday after he admitted conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration at a previous hearing.

Canterbury Crown Court heard how Singh said in a voice note he had been organising cross-Channel journeys for four years, during an apparent bid to recruit someone to his operation.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Singh had earned about £185,000 smuggling people from the UK to France in the back of lorries.

Evidence presented in court demonstrated how Singh used social media to promote the criminal enterprise.

One screenshot features a background of sandy beaches, with text saying "UK to France, safe done", indicating a safe crossing. Another image shows the back of what appears to be a cargo ship with freight lorries on it, suggesting that people are crossing by concealment within the vehicles.

Also seized were a phone which had messages on organising transport, videos of £20 notes spread out on a bed and a TikTok account apparently advertising cross-Channel journeys.

Defending Singh, Talbir Singh KC said the defendant came to the UK aged 18 as an Italian national after his family moved from India to Italy.

The court heard he worked legally in the UK in the construction industry, earning £4,000 to £4,500 a month.

It is thought that he used construction sites in Wolverhampton as a way to meet people and make connections with co-conspirators.

Judge Alison Russell said that hiding people in HGVs in "unsafe and cramped conditions" came with significant risks and children may have been involved.

She added it had become apparent that Singh's business model included transporting about 15 people at a time in HGVs to France and arranging pick-ups and drop-offs for drivers.

Singh's plot was eventually foiled after 11 Indian nationals were discovered hiding in the trailer of a lorry stopped in Dover in December 2024.

The CPS confirmed that the information the Indian nationals provided, along with four other testimonies from people found in a separate lorry travelling to France in January 2025, led the authorities to Singh and his address in Wolverhampton.

After Singh's sentencing, Peter Cockrill, from the CPS, said: "Jaskirat Singh played a key role in organising the illegal movement of people from the UK to France using lorries, putting individuals at serious risk in the process.

"The evidence showed he was coordinating drivers, arranging payments and actively involved in a sustained operation over many months.

"We will now apply for a confiscation order to recover as much of his criminal profit as possible."

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