BACKSTREET factories in China sell £350 dinghies online to people smugglers bringing illegal migrants to Britain, a Sun probe found.
Workshops 5,000 miles away churn out flimsy vessels to order for unscrupulous gangs in northern France — offering discounts for bulk purchases.
The National Crime Agency said the dinghies were becoming “ever more dangerous and un-seaworthy, increasing the risk to life”.
Our probe found that the factories, all in Shandong and Zhejiang provinces , advertise through Chinese e-commerce site Alibaba.com and state their main export market is western Europe .
They say the boats, typically 8m-long, can carry more than 30.
In reality, double that cram on them.
Last week, a 10m-long boat brought 106 into British waters.
At least 469 fully-loaded dinghies have crossed to the UK so far this year, carrying 27,881, the majority young men.
This week a shipment of 20 small boats destined to ferry migrants across the Channel to the UK was seized in Bulgaria .
Another 25 were confiscated at the same location in July thanks to intelligence gathered by British law enforcement passed on to the Bulgarian National Customs Agency.
It comes after the Foreign Office sanctioned Chinese firm Weihai Yamar Outdoors Product Co for advertising online inflatable boats for the specific purpose of people smuggling.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “The Labour government claimed it would smash the gangs but can’t even stop the Chinese-made boats being sold in France.
“This is a weak government which has lost control of our borders. They aren’t prepared to take the tough action needed to end this madness so the situation will get worse.”
Alibaba said: “Search terms or product listings such as ‘refugee boat’ or ‘immigrant boat’ are in violation of our listings policies and won’t return positive search results.”
It said the inflatables advertised were “designed, certified, and intended for lawful purposes”.
