The Telegraph

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Migrants smuggled to UK on small boats from Netherlands to avoid patrols

Story by Max Stephens
• 41m • 2 min read



Migrants scramble into shallow waters to board an inflatable taxi boat along Neufchatel-Hardelot, in northern France

Criminal gangs are smuggling migrants into the UK from the Netherlands as part of new tactics to avoid patrol boats in the English Channel.
An inflatable dinghy carrying 36 Afghan migrants, including six boys, was intercepted near the Dutch coastal village of Cadzand, approximately 100 miles from Dover, on Saturday.

Dutch prosecutors confirmed that the boat, which became stranded when its engine failed, had launched from the Netherlands and was piloted by two Sudanese nationals.
They said all the adult passengers were men, who were being held in temporary custody.
Mike Tapp, the Labour MP for Dover and Deal, said the crossing demonstrated how smugglers were adapting their tactics to try more perilous and longer routes from Belgium and the Netherlands following a sharp decline in Channel crossings.
Between Jan 1 and Oct 31 this year, 22,128 people crossed the Channel by small boat from France – a 40 per cent decline from the same period last year.
Channel crossings tend to occur most frequently during the summer, when water temperatures are warmer. They typically depart from the beaches of Calais and Dunkirk in northern France for the most direct route.
The UK Government said this year had the lowest number of summer arrivals since 2020 and credited stronger deterrents imposed by French law enforcement.

Mr Tapp, a former soldier in the Intelligence Corps and veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, said: “As launch disruptions grow, the criminal gangs will adapt and a part of that will be finding new launch locations and methods. That means our operational efforts must also be agile.
“We have seen a significant reduction in crossings this year, but we still have a long way to go.”
A spokesman for the Netherlands Red Cross described the crossing as “unusual” and that the passengers had been in mortal peril after the dinghy’s engine failed.
Bastiaan van Blokland told the BBC: “The situation definitely was dire, 38 people on a boat with legs dangling out of the boat, in the cold weather, without an engine. It didn’t look safe at all.
“We were surprised that this situation occurred. We are not very familiar with these kind of movements, and we will be alert for the future.”

The Dutch gendarmerie said the inflatable boat was seen near Breskens town between 5.30am and 6am on Saturday after its engine failed.
Emergency services towed the dinghy to the harbour of Cadzand, where the occupants were medically examined.
Two Sudanese passengers were arrested that same day on suspicion of human smuggling. They are being held in restricted custody, which means they can only communicate with their lawyer.

Migrants smuggled to UK on small boats from Netherlands to avoid patrols