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Inflatable boats confiscated by Europol that smugglers had used for crossing the English Channel: A year and a half of investigations
Photo: Ben Stansall / AFP
Criminals repeatedly make their business off of the suffering of those seeking protection.
Smugglers offer refugees routes across the Mediterranean, across Europe - and also across the English Channel to Great Britain.
Now the European police authority Europol has dismantled such a smuggling network for escaping across the English Channel in a large-scale operation.
According to EU authorities, 19 people responsible were arrested in Germany.
German, French and Belgian authorities were involved in the operation, which was coordinated by Europol and the European judicial authority Eurojust.
The investigation, which lasted a year and a half, "focused on an Iraqi-Kurdish network that was suspected of smuggling irregular migrants from the Middle East and East Africa from France to Great Britain," explained Europol.
People seeking protection in “inferior inflatable boats”
According to the information, “inferior inflatable boats” were used that were neither suitable nor safe for transporting more than ten people, but in which the smugglers placed around 50 people seeking protection.
In total, investigators collected evidence of at least 55 departures made possible exclusively by this smuggling network, Europol said.
Those arrested in Germany organized the purchase, storage and transport of the inflatable boats for the dangerous crossings from Calais.
According to the authorities, the smugglers charged between 1,000 and 3,000 euros per passenger.
Depending on the weather conditions, up to eight boats could leave in one night.
German authorities said they deployed more than 650 officers on numerous searches on Wednesday, mainly in the west of the country.
Twelve inflatable boats, 179 life jackets, 81 children's swimming aids, 60 air pumps, ten engines, weapons and cash were confiscated from houses and warehouses.
mrc/AFP