Small boats that could have transported 2,000 people across the Channel have been seized on their way from China, the National Crime Agency (NCA) announced.
The UK's border security commander hailed the operation – which saw 25 inflatable boats and engines confiscated – as a "serious blow" to smuggling gangs. The 10-metre-long boats, each capable of carrying around 80 people on the perilous journey, were found inside a container at Felixstowe bound for Germany.
First bulk seizure in UK
It is understood to be the first time a bulk consignment of boats and engines has been seized in the UK. The NCA said the container was due to go to Hamburg in Germany – a key staging post for people traffickers. They would then have been moved to northern France or Belgium and used for dangerous Channel crossings.
The government has pledged to smash the smuggling gangs responsible for small boats landing on UK shores. The NCA said it and its international partners have intercepted more than 1,500 boats and engines since 2023. The seizure was made as part of an ongoing investigation into criminal gangs.
Official reaction
Border Security Commander Duncan Capps said: “This seizure delivers yet another serious blow to the criminal gangs facilitating dangerous and illegal Channel crossings. Thanks to the hard work of the NCA, Home Office intelligence teams and Border Force officers, disruptions like these to criminal networks and their supply lines are happening more than ever before.”
He said those smuggling flimsy small boat equipment would face the full force of the law. NCA Branch Commander Adam Berry said: “This was a significant seizure of small boat equipment which will put a huge dent in the profits of the criminal network involved. It will also have stopped these dangerous boats and under-powered engines being used to put lives at risk in the Channel. Once we identified that the shipment would pass through a UK port on its way to Germany, we were able to work quickly with our partners at Border Force to ensure it would go no further. Targeting the supply lines of people smuggling gangs is just one way we are trying to disrupt them. Our investigation continues.”
There is no suggestion that the crew or operators of the ship knew what was in the container. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, passed last year, created new criminal offences making it illegal to supply or handle items used in organised immigration crime.
