Yachts an easy way to bring migrants to UK, says ex-smuggler

Ex-soldier tells how he smuggled Vietnamese migrants by yacht into UK marinas.

He was convicted and sent to prison in 2019 , but we have learned that smugglers are still using similar routes and methods.

Private marinas have "no more security than a caravan site", one harbourmaster on Essex coast told us.

Nick told us he took charge of a plan that saw Vietnamese migrants arrive from France by yacht at Ramsgate Marina .

The operation was brokered by one of Matt 's contacts, Nick told the BBC .

As he was a registered member of the marina, there was no reason for anyone to suspect wrongdoing, he explained.

It was also a good place to keep tabs on the comings and goings of Border Force agents.

They both denied the charges, whereas Matt , the Albanian , pled guilty and was given a lesser sentence of five years and four months . "I regret a lot of it, but I don't know that it would have ever been any different," said Nick , reflecting on his time in the people-smuggling trade. "I think I was always out for self-destruction anyway." He was recently recalled to prison for breaching the terms of his licence. Matt and Lin , meanwhile, are both out of prison and living in the UK ..