Soldiers deployed to stop undocumented migrants at Dutch ports

By Janene Pieters on June 6, 2016 - 09:54
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Dutch soldier in a training exercise (Picture: Wikimedia Commons/Gertrud Zach)Dutch soldier in a training exercise (Picture: Wikimedia Commons/Gertrud Zach)

The Dutch army is deploying soldiers from Monday to help the Koninklijke Marechaussee search for undocumented migrants trying to go to Britain via the Dutch ports, ANP reports.

A total of 32 soldiers will be deployed to assist the Marechaussee - a policing force that works as a branch of the military and is responsible for border security, including at ports and airports. The soldiers will be deployed to Hoek van Holland, Europoort and IJmuiden from today until October 1st.

Recent figures from the Ministry of Security and Justice show that almost 500 undocumented migrants were caught trying to get to Britain via a Dutch port in the first four months of this year. That is about the same number as the whole of 2015, NOS report.

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