A people smuggler earned an estimated £173,000 by crowding 173 migrants onto a dinghy designed to hold just 25 people, a boat that later caught fire during its Channel crossing. The case highlights the scale of profit made by smuggling gangs and the extreme overcrowding that puts migrants' lives at serious risk during attempts to reach the UK.

The vastly overloaded vessel, carrying nearly seven times its intended capacity, burst into flames, though the article does not specify casualty details. The smuggler's earnings were calculated based on the fees charged per passenger across the 173 people packed onto the dinghy, underscoring the lucrative and dangerous nature of the small-boat crossing trade.