Videos feature icons, emojis and other symbols that promote journeys from Spain to the UK LONDON: TikTok and other social media platforms have been used by Albanian smugglers to advertise migrant routes to the UK, the Telegraph reported on Monday. The new route publicized by gangs includes a ferry ride from Santander on the north coast of Spain to the south coast port of Portsmouth for £14,000 ($18,000) per person. “If they arrive on a small boat, they know that they are likely to be sent back to Albania,” said an immigration investigator to the Telegraph. The official explained that migrants who take the new route are less likely to be caught, identified, and deported back to Albania, even though it is much more expensive than other routes. The route is advertised on social media platforms, mainly TikTok, through videos featuring icons, emojis, and images of trucks, boats, and landmarks in London, including the London Eye. TikTok has reportedly removed all the videos and closed down the accounts that were selling the new route. TikTok, Meta, and X have all signed up to an initiative in which they have pledged to increase cooperation with the National Crime Agency to find and remove the criminal content. The UK has been struggling with the issue of illegal migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats in recent years. According to non-political watchdog the Migration Observatory, in 2022, around 46,000 people were detected making this journey, mainly from Iran, Albania, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. However, the number of detected crossings decreased by 10 percent in the first half of 2023, to around 11,500. This was largely due to a significant drop in the number of Albanians making the crossing, which fell by 88 percent in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period a year before. Smugglers have long used social media to advertise their services to migrants. In 2022, the nonprofit publication Rest of World found several videos on TikTok advertising boat journeys between Africa and Europe. These videos offered valuable information on immigration policies for asylum-seekers, making them a valuable resource for migrants. The BBC also reported on how displaced families in Syrian camps were using TikTok to raise money. Children would livestream on the platform for hours, pleading for digital gifts with a cash value, with the company taking a cut of the profits.