As the gap between the developing and developed countries continues to grow, there are millions of people wanting a better life in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia and Europe.

A spokesman for Canada’s Royal Mounted Police claims at any one time, 18 million people are poised to make a covert voyage to one country or another. These poor (in every meaning of the word) people are willing to borrow, beg and shell out huge amounts of currency to get to the land of their hopes.

And there are lot of criminals willing to take their hard-won savings.

People smuggling by road is big (illegal) business, particularly in the US and Europe. Here's a "load" of illegal immigrants attempting to enter the US hidden deep inside a cargo truck. But modern surveillance equipment can penetrate the steel walls of the truck.

In 2000, 58 illegal Chinese immigrants died in an airtight truck container at the port of Dover, having been transported across the continent, then across the Channel. The driver and a London-based accomplice were sentenced to 14 and 6 years imprisonment respectively.

French Customs in 2001 intercepted a 7.5m truck on a Channel ferry packed with rags and fabric – and 24 Indian nationals loaded in Paris and close to asphyxiation.

At the UK end of the Channel Tunnel Customs examined a tanker, laden with sand and 35 Indian ‘illegals’ who had been on the road from Belgium for 4-5 hours. Nine more were found sitting on a load of frozen chickens in a freezer truck chilled to -9°C. Although they were wrapped in thermals the solid-sided vehicle had no exit mechanism and no way for them to leave the vehicle in an emergency.

Eight Turkish Kurds, including two children, were found dead in Wexford, Ireland having hidden in a metal container they believed was headed to Dover.

A body was found in the wheel well of a US Airways jet at San Francisco International Airport. The unidentified man was discovered a few minutes after landing.