Migrants who document their journey on social media are being offered discounted passage by people smugglers in an effort to promote their services. The National Crime Agency has been working with social media companies to remove video footage of the crossings, with thousands of posts taken down. Adverts on social media have become a central mechanism for smugglers to attract business, with experts expressing concern about the polished nature of the ads that downplay the dangers of the crossings. The financial scale of smuggling operations was revealed when a people smuggler was jailed after running an illegal operation for 15 years.