More than 20 men board Kurdish-coloured boat as Belgian police watch
More than 20 men boarded a brightly coloured small boat off Belgium’s De Panne beach at about 3am on Thursday, while Belgian police watched nearby. Its red, white, green and yellow design resembles the Kurdish flag; it is not known whether the boat crossed the Channel. The incident comes amid renewed attention on people-smuggling networks and the authorities’ response to departures from the European coast.
The article reports that the National Crime Agency’s operations director recently told MPs Iraqi Kurds and Afghans were over-represented in trafficking groups. In 2024, 18 members of a gang, mostly Iraqi Kurds, were jailed in France; investigators believed it may have been linked to as many as 10,000 crossings. The report says 85,649 people have reached the UK by small boat since Labour took office, with 8,466 arriving since July.
In short
- More than 20 men boarded a Kurdish flag-coloured boat off Belgium.
- It is unclear whether the dinghy crossed the Channel.
- The NCA has cited Iraqi Kurds among over-represented groups in trafficking.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “‘The gangs are laughing at us’: Channel migrants board ‘custom-made’ small boat in colours of the Kurdish flag, as Belgian police stand and watch”.