MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The number of undocumented migrants attempting to enter the United Kingdom has more than doubled over the past year, Britain’s law enforcement National Crime Agency (NCA) report released on Tuesday estimated.
"Detections of irregular migrants attempting to enter the UK clandestinely more than doubled in 2014 with labor exploitation the most common trafficking type," the NCA report stresses.
The most commonly used route, according to the agency, is from North Africa to Italy, the use of which has almost tripled in the past year.
"The biggest threat emanates from the North Africa into Italy route, use of which rose by over 300 [percent] in 2014. Greece also remains a key nexus point," the report stresses.
A number of tragedies involving migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea, in which the United Nations says over 1,800 have drowned this year alone, highlights the risk people take fleeing crisis-stricken homelands for Europe.
We’ve just published the National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime 2015 http://t.co/YvNGlfS5wX
— NationalCrimeAgency (@NCA_UK) June 23, 2015
The NCA's National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organized Crime annual review assesses various threats to the United Kingdom and the European Union, including organized crime and economic malpractice.