National Crime AgencyA man has been arrested who is suspected of being an important seller of small boat supplies to people who smuggle them.
The man is accused of supplying smugglers in northern France with engines and boats, according to the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
The Turkish man, 44, was arrested at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on Wednesday, as part of an operation involving the NCA and Dutch and Belgian partners.
He will be sent back to Belgium to face human trafficking charges.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the arrests were “an important piece of the jigsaw” in the fight against cross-channel but added he was “not pretending to be a silver bullet”.
Authorities said the man, whose name has not been released, sent the goods from Turkey, stored them in Germany, and then took them to northern France.
He was arrested after authorities discovered he was traveling from Turkey to the Netherlands.
NCA director general Rob Jones said the man was thought to be a “major dealer” of “highly dangerous” boats and engines to smugglers operating in Belgium and northern France.
He called the arrest a milestone in one of the agency’s “most important investigations into organized immigration crime”.
National Crime AgencyHome Secretary Yvette Cooper said the investigation showed the importance of working “with our international partners to get results”.
“We will do anything to eradicate criminal organizations wherever we find them.”
More than 50 people have died trying to cross the English Channel by 2024.
More than 32,000 people have crossed in 2024 so far – up from 29,437 people in 2023.
Earlier this month Sir Keir announced an extra £75m for the UK’s border police, vowing to “treat people smugglers like terrorists”.
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