During the night from Saturday to Sunday, 37 migrants were discovered on a beach near Fort-Mahon, in the Somme.
Two are suspected of being smugglers.
The two people "for whom we wonder if they are smugglers" were placed in custody, said the deputy prosecutor of Amiens, Alexia Royannez, without being able to confirm at this stage that the two cases were linked.
A well-established organization
According to a source close to the case, the arrests took place around 3 am, in the same department.
A first van was checked, which the driver said he had dropped off migrants on the beach.
A second van arrived with all the necessary equipment for a crossing, the source reported.
Crossings and attempted crossings from the Channel to England aboard small boats have steadily increased since 2018, reaching records this summer, bringing the number of migrants involved between the beginning of January and the end of August to some 15,400. .
“Departures take place between Calais, Cap Gris-nez and Dunkirk, the areas where you can see the cliffs of Dover when the weather is nice and where it seems easy to cross, but over the months and the strengthening of patrols on land the Little by little, this phenomenon has spread to the south, ”explained, at the beginning of September, the maritime prefect of the Channel and the North Sea, Philippe Dutrieux.
Miscellaneous
Pas-de-Calais: 126 migrants saved in the Channel by the French Navy
World
Migrants: UK threatens to turn back those crossing the Channel, France cry for blackmail
Picardy
Migrants
Smugglers
Miscellaneous