At least 25 inflatable boats and 25 outboard engines destined for people-smuggling gangs have been seized at Felixstowe, the National Crime Agency stated.
NCA officers, working with Border Force search teams and the Port of Felixstowe, made the seizure on Saturday 18 July. The ten-metre rubber boats and Parsun outboard engines were found in a container being shipped from China.
According to the NCA, this is believed to be the first time a bulk consignment of boats and engines destined for people smugglers has been seized in the UK. The agency said the container’s next stop after Felixstowe would have been Hamburg, where investigators believe the cargo would have been offloaded. Germany is described by the NCA as a well-known staging post for boats and equipment used by cross-Channel smugglers operating in northern France and Belgium.
The agency said each boat could have carried around 80 people, meaning that had they reached the French coast they could have been used to put the lives of around 2,000 people at risk in the Channel. There is no suggestion the crew or operators of the ship knew what was in the container.
The NCA said that since it began targeting equipment supply chains in early 2023, more than 1,500 boats and engines have been intercepted by the agency and international partners. Its investigation into those behind the shipment continues, involving international law enforcement partners.
NCA Branch Commander Adam Berry was quoted in the press release as saying: “This was a significant seizure of small boat equipment which will put a huge dent in the profits of the criminal network involved. It will also have stopped these dangerous boats and under-powered engines being used to put lives at risk in the Channel.”
He added: “Once we identified that the shipment would pass through a UK port on its way to Germany, we were able to work quickly with our partners at Border Force to ensure it would go no further. Targeting the supply lines of people smuggling gangs is just one way we are trying to disrupt them. Our investigation continues.”
Border Security Commander Duncan Capps was quoted in the press release as saying: “This seizure delivers yet another serious blow to the criminal gangs facilitating dangerous and illegal Channel crossings. Thanks to the hard work of the NCA, Home Office intelligence teams and Border Force officers, disruptions like these to criminal networks and their supply lines are happening more than ever before. We will continue to investigate, pursue and detain all those smuggling flimsy small boat equipment, and ensure that they face the full force of the law.”
The NCA said tackling organised immigration crime remains a top priority and that it currently has more than 100 investigations ongoing into individuals or networks involved in people smuggling.
