UK and Belgium strike deal to focus on ‘vile’ small boat gangs
Ministers announced the fresh crackdown with Belgium on Wednesday, which will see the two countries work together to help identify, disrupt and dismantle criminal gangs
The deal will see Belgium and the UK work closer together to stop small boat crossings(Image: Getty Images)
The UK has signed a deal with Belgium in a bid to slash small boat crossings and crackdown on the ‘vile criminals’ behind them.
Ministers announced the deal on Wednesday, which will see the two countries work together to help identify, disrupt and dismantle the gangs involved in migrant smuggling.
Belgium and the UK will now work closely on intelligence to tackle smuggling gangs – but the deal does not include a returns agreement.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “This agreement will help UK and Belgian police tighten the net around the criminal gangs behind small boat crossings.
“The migrant smuggling trade doesn’t start and stop on the beaches of northern France. These gangs operate across borders, so we’ll work with every international partner available to track them down, shut them down and bring them to justice.
“Our efforts are delivering results. Small boat crossings are down significantly. But we know there is much more to do. I will do whatever it takes to bear down on these vile criminals and bring them to justice.”
Under previous arrangements, sharing some intelligence on gangs required judicial approval before it could be shared, creating delays at critical stages of investigations.
The new agreement rips up these barriers. It also strengthens specialist training to detect and disrupt criminal activity linked to small boat crossings, as well as wider organised crime such as drugs and firearms smuggling.
Belgian officers are now also able to join the UK-France Intelligence Cell in northern France, where National Crime Agency officers work alongside French counterparts to identify and dismantle organised migrant-smuggling networks operating across Europe.
Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said: “Belgium and the United Kingdom are neighbouring countries and friendly nations. We have close operational police cooperation, which has already delivered very concrete results both on the ground and in investigations.
“Our shared ambition is to continue working together to combat migrant smuggling and drug-related organised crime, which operate on both sides of our borders and exploit human misery.”
Working together, the UK and Belgium have so far made 50 arrests linked to migrant smuggling and over 40 vehicle seizures this year, while investigations continue into the criminal networks responsible for dangerous Channel crossings.
