Since the start of this year, police on the Flemish coast have already spotted 15 small boats carrying migrants hoping to make a happy future for themselves in the UK. All boats set sail from a beach in Belgium or from the marina in Nieuwpoort and are bound for the United Kingdom. In previous years, none or at most one or two vessels were counted all year. Criminal organisations are making a fortune from this business.
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‘Exponential’ increase in transmigrant boats that have sailed from Belgium bound for the UK this year
Colin Clapson
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A cold, windy night had been forecast: not good weather for a crossing of the English Channel and certainly not in rickety Chinese-made rubber dinghies.
Daily west coast police receive detailed weather forecasts for the North Sea from the British Coastguard. And given the poor weather, they expected few attempts to cross. Consequently, no major checks were planned for last night.
Head of the federal police visits the coast
Late last night, during a quieter spell, the federal police’s commissioner-general Eric Snoeck paid a working visit to the federal police in Bruges, capital of West Flanders Province, and the maritime police in the port of Nieuwpoort. He was briefed on exactly how the federal police assist their colleagues in the local police service with checks to combat human trafficking.
“Since the beginning of January, 15 boat departures have already been recorded from the Belgian coast,” says An Berger, spokesperson for the federal police. “In previous years, there were none, or at most one or two departures per year. So that is an exponential increase. And that is precisely why there are so many extra police checks.”
30 human trafficking dossiers opened in a short space of time
“There are virtually no migrants who are still attempting the crossing on their own, without using the services of a smuggling organisation,” An Berger continues. “It is all very well organised by various criminal networks that work closely together.”
“We are working hard to dismantle these human trafficking organisations. These are the organisations that bring people here, arrange the boats, ensure they can make the crossing and charge exorbitant fees for doing so.”
A complex international story
“A criminal organisation involved in human trafficking rarely focuses on just one country," An Berger says. "Usually, the way it works is that cheap nautical equipment – rubber dinghies, life jackets or rubber rings used as life jackets, and outboard motors – is stored in Germany. That equipment is often ordered from China and then comes via Turkey to Germany. From there, it goes – often via Belgian routes – to the French coast and on to our coast.”
“Various networks work together. On the ground, you find the operatives, the men who do the legwork. The key figures are often based abroad. That is why the federal judicial police cooperate internationally with other police forces. And together with the judiciary, we are doing our best to identify these criminal organisations and bring them to justice.’