Eight arrested as Vietnam-UK migrant smuggling ring dismantled

"Digitalisation enhances every stage of the activity," Europol said. "Allowing these networks to operate with greater speed, efficiency, and resilience, while remaining challenging for law enforcement and judicial authorities to detect and disrupt."

About 41,500 people crossed the channel last year, according to data from the University of Oxford's Migration Observatory. On Thursday, at least four people died when a small boat carrying illegal migrants seeking to reach Britain sank in the channel.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Hugh Lawson)