People smugglers are only giving migrants enough fuel to make it halfway across the Channel, the Daily Express understands.
The organised crime gangs are relying on Border Force to rescue asylum seekers from the water because the chances of the dinghies making it to the Kent coast are so slim.
Once the occupants are transferred onto Border Force vessels, staff check the amount of fuel in the dinghies and remove it.
And sources have revealed migrants are often only given enough petrol to make it halfway across the Dover Strait.
The boats, often around 8 metres in length, are dangerously close to breaking within moments of leaving the French coastline. The engines used to power the boats are so flimsy they cannot push the vessels through the water, increasing the risk of them sinking.
But it also crucially burns the little fuel they have. The Daily Express has heard examples of migrants being rescued off the French coast after effectively going round in circles for several hours because the boat is unable to break through the water.
Some of the fuel also leaks into the middle of the boat, where children are sat to prevent them falling into the Channel.
Illegal Migration Minister Michael Tomlinson told the Daily Express: “We are seeing a change in their methods. We are seeing a shift in where they are launching from, they are shifting a little bit further West, making the crossings more dangerous.
“They are piling more people in boats, 50, 60 and even 80 crammed into a boat.
“They are taking longer journeys, more marginable conditions, they are taking greater risks because they don’t care if you live or die.
“They just care about the bottom line. All they care about is getting that money in their pocket.”
More than 2,000 migrants have reached the UK by small boat so far this year after almost 300 made the crossing over the weekend.
A total of 2,006 asylum seekers have crossed the Channel in 43 boats to date in 2024, according to official government figures.
At this stage in 2023, 2,953 people had crossed the Channel – almost a third more than this year.
Mr Tomlinson added: “This is an issue of our this, the moral issue of our time. It is a global issue. It is not just an issue affecting the UK. It’s not just affecting France. We’re seeing it in America, we’re seeing it across the World.
“The World is looking at our legislation – is this scheme going to work? That is why we are so determined to get it on the statute book, to get the treaty ratified and the planes off the ground.
“There is good, strong cooperation with our French counterparts.”
Asked if Western nations will ever be able to successfully break the people’s smugglers’ business model, Mr Tomlinson said: “That is why we need the deterrent to be up and running.
“They will know it is not worth their while.
“You can make it so difficult it is not worth their while. We could talk about arrests, we could talk about prison sentences. All of these things make sure it is not worth their time.”
Last week, the leader of a notorious Channel smuggling gang was among 19 arrested in a landmark European probe.
Europol said the Iraqi-Kurdish and Syrian group was “one of the most active” organised crime gangs in northern France, charging migrants between £850 and £2,500 to cross.
They were so sophisticated they could launch eight boats a night from different beaches, investigators said.
Police arrested five “high value” targets and raided 19 houses and nine storage units.
Chris Tilley, Deputy Director of Small Boats Operational Command, warned in an exclusive interview with the Daily Express that smuggling gangs have become “numb” to deaths and misery.
And he said migrants have died in fights as they desperately try to secure a place on a boat bound for the UK.
But after “18 months to two years”, law enforcement agencies finally have the right “structures” in place to “really start taking chunks” out of the organised crime gangs.
