People smugglers are increasingly targeting the remote coves and small harbours of England's south-west coast to avoid clampdowns in the south-east, police have warned. Devon and Cornwall Police said intelligence suggests criminal gangs are shifting focus to the region's hundreds of miles of coastline.
The warning came as a new police boat, named Neptune, was unveiled at a harbour in Plymouth, Devon. The 11.2-metre catamaran, funded by the UK government, has a top speed of almost 50mph and is equipped with an underwater drone and a long-range infra-red camera. The £300,000 vessel will be used to combat people smugglers, as well as South American cocaine shipments and illegal diving on wrecks.
Chief Constable James Vaughan said Neptune would provide greater visibility on the water and help deter criminality, from theft of lobster pots to counter-terrorism operations. He noted that as efforts to prevent crossings via the shortest route from France have strengthened, some smuggling activity has spilled down the south coast.
One notorious case involved 29 Vietnamese nationals, including 17 children, crammed into a dilapidated yacht from France to Cornwall. Workers in Newlyn alerted police as the group was loaded into a van, which was later intercepted on the M5 motorway in Devon.
Police expressed concern over the decline of the fishing industry and second-home ownership, which have reduced the number of people monitoring the coast. Detective Superintendent Gary Bunn encouraged coastal communities to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity.
