Illegal immigrants are being smuggled out of Britain to avoid deportation – before being sneaked back in after gaining immigration status elsewhere in Europe. Using the ‘asylum loophole’, people smugglers charge £1,000 per person to arrange trips to Europe, allowing illegal immigrants to gain legitimate paperwork. It means that if they are caught trying to return to Britain, they are not sent back to their birth country but to the European state that gave them their first asylum-seeking status. Illegal cargo: The migrants in the Romanian lorry which they boarded in Kent before it headed for Calais via Dover . The lorry was never searched and was said to have breezed through immigration controls in Britain and France . The lorry driver was confronted by reporters from BBC's South East Today programme . The ruse was exposed by the BBC’s South East Today programme which was broadcast last night. Reporters contacted a gang of people smugglers – using a fixer called Ajmal – who agreed to take him out of the country and bring him back for £1,000. Hidden cameras showed Ajmal getting on to a Romanian-based lorry in Kent before it headed for Calais via a Dover ferry. The truck was never searched and was said to have ‘breezed’ through immigration controls in Britain and France. Only hours later, Ajmal was released in Belgium along with 20 other illegal immigrants from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The report told how many of the illegal immigrants – and some who had outstayed their student visas – were told to make their way to Italy to apply for asylum. Once there they are fingerprinted and are able to gain immigration status, allowing them to lengthen their stay in Europe. If they are caught trying to return to Britain, they only face being returned to Italy or other European countries rather than their countries of origin. Many illegal immigrants were told to make their way to Italy to apply for asylum . John Vine, the former Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, said: ‘I don’t think people realise the extent of the trade of shipping people out of the UK to other parts of Europe and elsewhere in the world' Less than two years ago, border officials spoke of their shock of people trying to smuggle themselves out of the UK . Asked how he would return to Britain, Ajmal said: ‘When I want to go to the UK … he say “ring my same number and I will tell you what to do and where you need to come – I will take you back to the UK”.’ Last night John Vine, the former Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, said: ‘I don’t think people realise the extent of the trade of shipping people out of the UK to other parts of Europe and elsewhere in the world. It is an issue the authorities need to look at very seriously.’ In 2006, Italy announced it would grant citizenship to immigrants who had stayed in the country for five years. However, it emerged that from January to August last year, 140,000 illegal immigrants had entered Europe via Italy. The eight-month figure was more than the entire total for the previous year. Less than two years ago, border officials in the UK told of their ‘shock’ at the ‘very unusual’ case of 28 illegal immigrants trying to smuggle themselves out of Britain. The immigrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka hid on a Polish lorry on a P&O ferry bound for France. They were returned to Dover to be questioned at the Border Force immigration centre.
People smugglers charging £1,000 per person to exploit 'asylum loophole'
They smuggle illegal immigrants out of Britain to avoid deportation . Take them elsewhere in Europe to gain legitimate status paperwork . If caught heading back to UK will be sent back to European state . Ruse exposed by reporter from BBC's South East Today programme .