A clandestine operation unfolds as a major consignment of small boats, destined for perilous Channel crossings, have been stopped crossing a European border.
Migrants onboard a smuggler’s boat sail past a boat of French Maritime Gendarmerie in an attempt to (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
A batch of small boats destined to carry 1,200 migrants each across the English Channel have been seized as they were ferried across Europe. It is the second major consignment of small boats to be found in less than three weeks following joint work between the National Crime Agency and Bulgarian law enforcement partners. The consignment of 20 eight-metre long inflatables was found in a large truck bound for the Netherlands at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint, overnight on the 10 August.
The crossing point is one of the busiest in Europe and is a key point targeted by people smugglers and other criminal gangs who are fuelling Britain’s small boat crisis. The latest seizure was made as part of an NCA operation, in collaboration with Home Office International Operations (HOIO), targeting supplies of small boat equipment moving into Europe. Intelligence was passed on to the Bulgarian National Customs Agency, allowing officers to intercept and search the lorry.
Second major seizure of small boats as NCA works with Bulgarian partners (Image: NCA)
The boats, while completely unsuitable for use in deep water, would typically have been used to carry around 50 or 60 people across the Channel.
The lorry driver has now been charged with breaching Bulgarian customs regulations.
It is the second major seizure in recent weeks – a similar load containing 25 boats was identified and seized at the same location on 26 July. A total of 69 are believed to have been seized at the checkpoint since the turn of the year.
Head of Europe for NCA International, Gill Duggan, said: “This second significant seizure demonstrates how we are stepping up our work with overseas partners, targeting the supply lines of OCGs running small boat crossings from France to the UK.
“Stopping these dangerous boats from reaching the hands of people smugglers has prevented crossings and prevented lives being put at risk. It has also put a substantial dent in the profits of those gangs.
The seized ‘deadly’ small boats. (Image: NCA)
“The NCA, alongside partners including Home Office, FCDO and HMRC, continues to step up our work with European partners to disrupt the supply of maritime equipment, and this is delivering results, with more than 700 boats and engines seized since early 2023.”
Tackling organised immigration crime remains a priority for the NCA, with more than 90 investigations underway into gangs or individuals in the top tier of criminality.
Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “What these latest disruptions show is the continued, coordinated approach with the National Crime Agency and Home Office International Operations to go after the criminal smuggling gangs.
“Criminals who facilitate these dangerous crossings are undermining our border security and putting lives at risk.
Migrant families clamber onto a small boat in France (Image: Getty Images)
