Small boat gangs that are shifting their cross-Channel smuggling operations from France to Belgium have encountered an unprecedented wave of arrests, according to a report by the Mail On Sunday. The criminal networks are attempting to evade heightened police patrols on French beaches by launching so-called 'taxi boats' from West Flanders, located southwest of Bruges.
Shift in Smuggling Routes
These vessels carry migrants who are UK-bound and already in Belgium, as well as others picked up across the border on remote stretches of the Hauts-de-France coast near Dunkirk and Calais. However, the smugglers have been met with a determined Belgian response. Since January, authorities have arrested 40 suspected smugglers and over 360 migrants. This marks a stark contrast to scenes from last year, where French police reportedly stood by as migrants waded through shallow waters to board flimsy inflatable boats.
Belgian police indicate that gang leaders have been forced to alter their tactics because 'many more' French officers are now on patrol. The British government attributes this change to its new partnership with Paris, which aims to curb illegal migration.
Increase in Launches from Belgium
A spokesperson for the Federale Politie noted that in each of the previous two years, the total number of small boat launches from Belgium was 'between zero and one.' Yet in the first four months of 2026, police recorded 27 launches, with an additional five failed attempts. The spokesperson added, 'In January we began to see a big increase and now such launches are regular. It is because French police are doing many more patrols on their side of the border. Organised crime gangs will always try to adapt when their business model is disrupted and it seems some have adapted by trying to move migrants to the UK from Belgium. We have stepped up our patrols, as the number of arrests shows. We have also launched a campaign urging the public to report suspicious behaviour.'
The spokesperson also highlighted 'good intelligence co-operation' among Belgian, French, and German police, as well as the UK's National Crime Agency.
Belgium's Migrant Apprehensions
Belgium deports approximately 50% of all 'transit-migrants'—those travelling through the country to another destination. In 2020, authorities apprehended 4,238 such migrants, and in 2021, 3,458. However, these mostly involved migrants hiding in lorries at ports like Zeebrugge. Since then, numbers have dropped dramatically due to enhanced port security. Last year, 352 were arrested, but the shift to small-boat smuggling has led to 364 arrests in Belgium so far this year.
A spokesperson for the Belgian Immigration Office stated, 'In recent months, we have observed an increase which can be attributed to a shift in migration routes from France to the Belgian coast. Specifically in the province of West Flanders, including coastal cities and the highways leading to them, at least 333 transit migrants have already been apprehended in 2026.'
Anglo-French Agreement
Last month, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez issued a joint statement claiming that 480 cross-Channel smugglers were arrested in 2025. They announced a new three-year Anglo-French agreement that would increase the number of law enforcement officers deployed in northern France to stop illegal crossings by 53%, from 907 this year to 1,392 by 2029. The deal also funds 'deployment of new technologies to reduce the number of departures of small boats, in particular water taxis.'
Expert Opinion
Alp Mehmet, former British diplomat and chairman of Migration Watch UK, expressed scepticism about the shift. 'Few migrants will switch from France to Belgium, whatever happens in France—which so far has been precious little,' he said. 'The greater distances involved and the Belgian coastguard’s readiness to intercept boats that have set sail make it unlikely. Some may chance the backs of lorries from ports like Zeebrugge but the numbers won’t be huge. The only effective deterrence is the detention of illegal arrivals followed by swift removal.'
