They were stopped by the Border Force just after having disembarked, coming from the Pas-de-Calais.

Ingrid Parrot, spokesperson of the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea, speaks of an "unprecedented mode of operation" .

Twelve migrants managed to reach the shores of England, on the night of Monday 12 to Tuesday 13 November, aboard a stolen fishing boat, about ten meters long.

Betrayed by their trajectory

The French authorities who watch the coast have alerted their English counterparts to seeing a fishing boat take a "strange" road, by calm sea.

The Regional Operational Center for Surveillance and Rescue (Cross) Gris-Nez called the owner, who realized that his ship had been stolen from the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais).

Arrested on the ground

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) in Dover was also alerted and the British Border Force stopped the migrants on the ground at approximately 1:00 am, according to the Maritime Prefecture, which was unaware of the exact location of their arrival in Great Britain. Britain.

"Until now, it was makeshift boats , " said Ingrid Parrot, emphasizing "the long-term cooperation with the English authorities" to fight against illegal immigration.

An investigation has been opened in France concerning the theft of the fishing vessel.

23 operations since the beginning of 2018

According to the maritime prefecture, there were 23 rescues to migrants at sea in 2016, 12 in 2017. In 2018, there have already been 23 operations, including both relief and arrests at the time of the migrants' were preparing to leave.