UK agents seize 25 inflatable boats linked to Channel smuggling networks
Border Force and the National Crime Agency seized 25 inflatable boats at East Midlands Airport, disrupting a shipment believed to be intended for people-smuggling networks. The seizure matters because each boat could carry about 70 people across the Channel, and it is the first major consignment of small-boat equipment destined for crossings to be detected in air freight.
The nine-metre boats were found hidden in pallets in a shipment travelling from Turkey to the Netherlands and intercepted on 2 October. It is the second major equipment seizure in Britain this year, following the discovery of 25 boats and 25 engines at Felixstowe in July. The NCA says it has seized more than 1,600 boats and engines overall and has around 100 organised immigration crime investigations ongoing; thousands of people still attempt Channel crossings.
- 25 boats seized at East Midlands Airport.
- The boats could have carried up to 1,700 people.
- Authorities say supply disruption is affecting smuggling networks.
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Thousands of people attempt to cross the English Channel each year seeking to reach the UK, relying on criminal smuggling networks to organise their journeys. These networks charge substantial fees and coordinate recruitment, transport, boats, and the dangerous crossing itself.
The boats and engines used must be sourced from abroad and smuggled into the UK through international supply chains. Without this equipment, the smuggling networks cannot operate or facilitate the crossings on which their business depends.
British authorities including Border Force and the National Crime Agency work to disrupt these networks by seizing equipment and investigating the groups behind them. Such seizures matter because they remove equipment that would be used for many crossings and disrupt the networks' operations.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Boats bound for people smugglers that can carry up to 1,700 illegal immigrants across the Channel are seized at UK airport”.