A joint operation between authorities in Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom led to the arrest of a Turkish national in Amsterdam.
A Turkish man suspected of being a major supplier of small boats to people smugglers who transport migrants across the English Channel has been arrested in Amsterdam following a joint operation by British, Dutch and Belgian authorities.
The 44-year-old was detained at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam on Wednesday and faces extradition to Belgium on human smuggling charges, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
The Turkish national is suspected of supplying boats and engines to cross-Channel smugglers, shipping them from Turkey and storing them in Germany until they were sent to northern France for crossings.
“This arrest marks an important milestone in one of the NCA’s most significant investigations into organised immigration crime,” said Rob Jones, the NCA’s director general. “The types of vessels and engines we see used in making these crossings are highly dangerous and completely unfit for open water.”
At least 50 people have died attempting to cross the English Channel this year. More than 32,000 migrants have made the crossing in 2024 so far — exceeding the total figure of 29,437 for the whole of 2023 — official data shows.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the arrest was a “significant piece of the jigsaw” in tackling Channel crossings.
The NCA said it is currently leading around 70 ongoing investigations into networks or individuals in the top tier of organised immigration crime or human trafficking.
The arrest of the Turkish national was a result of cooperation between Belgian, British and Dutch police, and European justice and police organisations Eurojust and Europol.
“Human smuggling criminals do not respect national borders, and we will relentlessly pursue these criminals through working internationally,” said a spokesperson for the public prosecutor’s office of Belgium’s West-Flanders province.
Earlier this month, a French court convicted 18 people on Tuesday in a major people smuggling trial involving a criminal gang that is believed to have been responsible for most migrant crossings across the English Channel in flimsy boats from 2020 to 2022.
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