Gang leaders among first to be hit by small boat sanctions

Gang leaders and small boat suppliers are among the first 25 targets to have their UK assets frozen in an effort to combat migrants crossing the Channel.

The suspected criminals are also banned from travelling to the UK, after they were the first to be hit by a wave of new sanctions targeting people-smuggling.

The list includes Albanian Bledar Lala, linked to smuggling migrants from Belgium, and Alen Basil, a former police translator now said to be running a people-trafficking network from Serbia.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the move as a “landmark moment” but experts said the impact was likely to be limited given the scale of smuggling networks.

UK investigators can now seize the British assets of sanctioned individuals and groups, while firms in Britain must cut any financial…