War on People Smugglers Explodes: 600 Boats Seized in Massive Crackdown Across Europe
People trying to smuggle migrants across the English Channel are now being targeted not just in the UK, but also in Germany. British investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA) are working closely with the German federal police (Bundespolizei) to stop smugglers from getting the boats and engines they use to transport people illegally.
Recently, the German police stopped a boat and engine being taken toward the Dutch border. Investigators believe it was headed to the north of France, where smugglers help people cross the Channel in dangerous and often deadly conditions.
The marine company that sold the boat had previously supplied several inflatable boats and engines used in these risky crossings. Police have now visited that company and warned them that if they keep selling equipment to smugglers, they’ll face serious consequences.
The goal of this joint effort is to disrupt the supply chain smugglers rely on. Over the past year and a half, UK authorities and their European partners have seized over 600 boats and engines linked to illegal crossings.
According to Jacque Beer from the NCA, at least 78 people died last year while trying to cross the Channel in small boats. He emphasized that the smugglers don’t care about the lives of the people they transport — they see them only as a way to make money. He also warned that crossing the Channel in small boats is never safe, since it’s one of the busiest shipping routes in the world.
Beer urged people in the boating industry to be alert. If something feels wrong, they should report it. Companies that knowingly supply smugglers will be held accountable.
The NCA also pointed out that smuggling operations are becoming more sophisticated. They’re now seeing smugglers using encrypted apps from countries like China and Vietnam to arrange crossings. These apps make it hard for law enforcement to track smugglers, especially because the platforms aren’t based in the UK and are harder to work with.
One of the apps mentioned is Zalo, a Vietnamese app that smugglers use to share photos, talk to potential migrants, and promote their services. It’s becoming more common for Vietnamese migrants to use these apps to plan their journey from Asia all the way to Europe, and then across the Channel.
Paul Brisley from the NCA said that this situation shows how global and fast-moving the problem is. Smugglers are constantly changing their tactics to avoid being caught, and using lesser-known apps is one of their latest tricks.
By mid-2024, authorities had managed to take down around 12,000 online ads that promoted illegal crossings. Social media companies like TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter) are working with the NCA to remove this kind of content, but there’s still a lot of work to do.
Brisley added that the NCA is helping these platforms learn how to better spot and stop smuggling content, so they can prevent more people from being lured into dangerous journeys.
