German police assisted by French and Belgian authorities have rolled up “one of the largest migrant smuggling networks” operating in the Channel, arresting 19 suspects in the international operation, Europol said Thursday.
“The investigation focused on an Iraqi-Kurdish network suspected of smuggling Middle-Eastern and East African irregular migrants from France to the UK with the use of low-quality inflatable boats,” Europe’s policing agency said in a statement.
Police in Germany on Wednesday swooped on 19 homes and nine storage facilities. They seized 12 inflatable boats, 179 life vests, 81 flotation devices for children, 60 air pumps, 11 outboard mounts, 10 engines, almost 60 electronic devices, arms and cash.
A probe into the gang’s activities started in late 2022, identifying the structure and operations of the organisation made up of Iraqi and Syrian nationals of Kurdish origin, the Hague-based Europol said.
“The suspects, all based in Germany, organised the purchase, storage and transportation of inflatable boats for their subsequent use to smuggle migrants from the beaches near the French city of Calais towards the UK,” Europol said.
The low-quality boats, made mostly in China and “not suitable nor safe for the transportation of more than 10 individuals”, often carried as many as 50 people.
In total, the investigators have gathered evidence linking at least 55 departures that were facilitated solely by this smuggling network, Europol said, saying the criminals charged between 1,000 and 3,000 euros per migrant “for a place on the dangerous vessel”.
– ‘Increasingly violent’ –
French officials rescued nearly 140 people over the weekend who got into difficulty while attempting the perilous crossing to Britain.
In one incident Saturday, five people, including a four-month-old baby, had to be saved from drowning after their boat sank off Boulogne, French officials in the Pas-de-Calais coastal region said.
Most of the people were saved in two major operations.
In one incident, coastguard officials rescued 57 people who had set off from Gravelines late Saturday after their vessel got into difficulty.
And a boat carrying 75 migrants had to be towed back to safety after they sent out a distress call.
At least 27 people died in November 2021 trying to cross the Channel in a dinghy, in one of the worst accidents in the busy sea-lane.
Migrant-smuggling by small boat has been on the up since 2019 and two years later overtook the practice of hiding people in the back of lorries.
“The criminal networks involved in the phenomenon remain extremely active, and are becoming increasingly violent while adapting their activities through the implementation of new crossing techniques,” Europol said.
But police also upped their own measures which led to a “significant decrease of over 30 percent fewer incidents and migrants smuggled in 2023 compared to 2022,” it added.
Law agencies pinged almost 61,000 “irregular” migrants attempting to cross the Channel in small boats, compared to 79,000 in 2022.
Last year, some 30,000 migrants and 600 boats reached Britain, Europol said.
