Braverman signs off Turkey deal to take out migrant-smugglers’ boats
Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, who paved the way for the agreement after a visit to Turkey, said: “We will be intensively sharing intelligence, people and technology to disrupt the people-smuggling gangs and the manufacture and supply of materials which enable small boat crossings.”
Britain is also in talks with Germany to seize hundreds of dinghies which are stored by criminals in warehouses before being called up for use along the French coast.
Officials are examining whether EU legislation or domestic laws in Germany could be used to allow the confiscation of the vessels as “dangerous goods”, disrupting the supply chain used by traffickers.
Turkish-manufactured inflatable dinghies can cost as little as £1,000 to produce, largely because they have no fixed hull, but are capable of carrying more than 50 people. Each migrant will be charged between £2,000 and £4,000, meaning huge profits for the people smugglers.
Ever more dangerous boats
An NCA spokesman said: “Crime groups involved in Channel small boat crossings are using ever more dangerous and unseaworthy boats, increasing the risk to life. There is no real-world use for these types of boats, which don’t meet European safety regulations and are not suitable for sea crossings.
“We are working with a number of international partners, including Turkey, to disrupt the supply of these vessels, and other maritime equipment such as engines, to those people smugglers organising crossings from France and Belgium to the UK.”
Last July an operation by UK, German and French police smashed a gang that had smuggled more than 10,000 migrants across the channel. The gang used Germany to warehouse boats, engines and other equipment brought in via Turkey and were making £65,000 per crossing, with up to 20 people crammed into each boat.
A new UK-Turkey memorandum of understanding will allow for faster sharing of customs data, information and intelligence feeds to disrupt the people smugglers’ supply chain.
