An immigration enforcement officer was an illegal migrant who stole money from small boat migrants, a court has heard. Besmir Matera, from Albania, has been charged, with four other immigration officers, with conspiracy to steal following a Home Office investigation. He is also charged with possessing false passports between 2011 and 2022 and a false driving licence between 2018 and 2022. Last year, 41,472 crossed to the UK – the second highest number recorded – with 36,000 migrants housed in hotels. However, he has faced criticism for the lack of a deterrent with fewer than 300 Channel migrants having been returned to France in the five months since his “one-in, one-out scheme was launched.