Boats capable of smuggling 1,700 illegal immigrants seized at UK airport
Officials said the boats could have carried about 1,700 migrants across the Channel, disrupting supply lines for people-smuggling gangs.
- On Friday, October 2, the National Crime Agency and Border Force intercepted 25 inflatable boats at East Midlands Airport, seizing a shipment destined for cross-Channel people smugglers traveling from Turkey to the Netherlands.
- Officials estimate the seized boats could have transported up to 1,700 migrants across the Channel, with each nine-metre vessel capable of carrying around 70 people.
- This intervention follows a similar discovery in July, when officers at the port of Felixstowe halted a Germany-bound shipment of 25 boats and 25 engines, adding to in excess of 1,600 boats and engines the NCA has seized.
- Minister for Border Security and Asylum Anna Turley said the seizure "delivers yet another blow to the evil smuggling gangs," while NCA Deputy Director of Investigations Craig Turner emphasized continued targeting of supply chains.
- Law enforcement activity remains high, with around 100 ongoing investigations into immigration crime, while recent data shows small boat arrivals are down 43% this year and arrests for immigration crime increased 74% compared to the previous year.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Migrant dinghies capable of smuggling 1,700 people seized at British airport
Migrant dinghies capable of carrying up to 1,700 people across the Channel have been seized at a British airport in a major crackdown on people-smuggling gangs.The National Crime Agency and Border Force intercepted the 25 inflatable boats at East Midlands Airport. The vessels were hidden inside pallets in an air-freight shipment travelling from Turkey to the Netherlands.Each nine-metre boat could carry about 70 people, so the shipment could tran…
The Independent
The Independent (US)Small boats ‘set for people smugglers’ seized at UK airport
The dinghies could have transported as many as 1,700 migrants, averaging roughly 68 passengers per boat
25 boats for people-smuggling gangs seized at East Midlands Airport
Twenty-five inflatable boats believed to have been destined for people-smuggling gangs operating across the English Channel have been seized at East Midlands Airport. The National Crime Agency (NCA) and Border Force intercepted the boats on Friday 2 October after they were identified in pallets forming part of an air freight shipment travelling from Turkey to […]
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