Refugees tell of brutality as people-smuggling across Channel booms

Exclusive: People reportedly forced on to small boats at gunpoint as gangs move into trade

Refugees have told of increasingly brutal tactics used by people-smugglers transporting thousands across the Channel in small boats, as calm seas and the Covid-19 pandemic create a boom in the trade.

The Guardian has heard testimonies of migrants being forced into boats at gunpoint or knifepoint and threatened with having their fingernails ripped out if they do not follow the orders of smugglers, who often use inflatable dinghies to transport their human cargo.

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