Albanian migrants are using a new smuggling route to the UK as an alternative to small boats, according to reports.
People smugglers are providing passage in lorries from Santander on the north coast of Spain to Portsmouth for £14,000.
The route is being advertised on social media including TikTok using emojis and images of lorries, ferries and landmarks in London.
The path means migrants are less likely to be picked up, identified and deported back to Albania.
Those crossing the Channel on small boats are taken by Border Force for processing by immigration officials at Manston near Dover with the prospect of being deported after the UK struck a returns deal with Albania last year.
An immigration investigator told The Telegraph: “If they arrive on a small boat, they know that they are likely to be sent back to Albania.
“They know their asylum claim will be refused so they don’t register with the Home Office. In order to pay the huge sum of money for getting into the UK, many get involved in cannabis farms.”
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the pull of the grey economy where Albanians can earn £1,000 a week in a cannabis farm is “pretty overwhelming”.
A rise in the number of illegal migrants attempting to enter the UK via Portsmouth has been reported by the UK borders and immigration watchdog.
It comes as the number of Albanians making the dangerous journey in dinghies from France plummeted in the first five months of this year.
Albanians made up around a third of 45,755 arrivals to the UK on small boats last year.
The drop comes after Britain struck a fast-track removal scheme with the European country.
TikTok said it had closed down the accounts advertising the new route.
