International criminal investigations have been launched into Chinese rubber dinghies being shipped through Britain for people smugglers to use in Channel crossings. The flimsy vessels are sent via the UK for criminal gangs to transport migrants across the Channel.
Investigations and Seizures
Dan Cannatella-Barcroft, from the National Crime Agency (NCA), said there were “several investigations of note that are keeping across the supply of equipment [that] will keep giving us opportunities to disrupt it wherever it appears”.
Last month, a shipping container from China with at least 25 inflatable dinghies and outboard engines was seized at the Port of Felixstowe, Suffolk. The boats, capable of carrying 80 people, were headed for Hamburg, Germany. Criminal kingpins were understood to be planning to sell them to gangs organising mass Channel crossings, according to the NCA.
Scale of the Problem
Most small boats used to cross the Channel are believed to come from China. They include a 15-metre “mega-dinghy” that carried a record 230 people into Dover, Kent last week.
In May, German police seized thousands of life jackets, 360 pumps and more than 30 boats near Dusseldorf. Authorities said much of the equipment uncovered in the joint probe involving German police and the NCA was in “go kits”, where the boat, engine, pump and fuel were packaged for use on the French coast.
Arrests and Government Response
Home Office data showed organised immigration crime arrests have risen by 74% in the last year to 1,900. Most of those arrested were in the UK, and 200 were made by overseas partners. Elsewhere, the NCA seized 634 boat engines in the year to April, nearly double the amount of the previous year. And 10 small boat pilots have been sentenced in the UK in the space of two months for endangering lives at sea.
Last week, the Government said it will “redouble” its efforts to clamp down on illegal boats crossing the English Channel carrying migrants. Home Office minister Anna Turley said despite one boat arriving on British shores carrying a record 230 people earlier this week, generally small boat crossings had fallen by 40%.
Ms Turley told Times Radio: “That is some substantial progress and I think some of that has had a dispersive effect, that you can see these people traffickers, these smugglers, these gangs are getting increasingly desperate, they're forcing more and more people onto boats that are absolutely not seaworthy and it's horrifying to see. They are moving further down the coast.
“So we've got to be relentless, keep redoubling our efforts and not be complacent about the progress we've made, but continue to work hard on that.” She added there was a “long way to go” on the issue in light of the crossings by larger boats in recent weeks.
