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In July, authorities intercepted a shipment at Felixstowe port in Suffolk, which contained 25 boats along with 25 engines. The shipment had been en route to Germany when it was seized.
According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), these vessels could have been exploited by people smugglers to transport approximately 70 migrants in each boat across the English Channel. Based on their calculations, this means the seized shipment had the potential to move as many as 1,700 individuals.
Craig Turner, the NCA’s deputy director of investigations, explained that efforts to disrupt the supply chain of boats and engines used for Channel crossings continue both within the UK and in partnership with international agencies. He noted that these ongoing operations have resulted in the confiscation of more than 1,600 boats and engines, thereby preventing their use by criminal networks.
Turner further stated, “Our assessment is that this is having an impact, driving up the cost of boats and engines, making it more difficult to get them to the coast and eating into the profits of the criminal gangs involved.” He added, “I’ve no doubt the boats we’ve seized here would have ended up being used to risk the lives of a huge number of people in the Channel had we not stepped in. Our investigation continues.
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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