Criminals using Netherlands as "hub" for people smuggling to United Kingdom
Criminal organizations are using the Netherlands as a “hub” for people smuggling from Europe to the United Kingdom, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) told the Telegraaf. Criminals buy boats and the other nautical items they need here and sometimes also house people in the Netherlands who are waiting to make the dangerous crossing, the newspaper wrote.
“We see that the Netherlands is used by criminal networks in the preparation of people smuggling. Think of the purchase, storage, and transport of nautical goods, like life jackets, rubber boats, outboard motors, and jerry cans with fuel,” public prosecutor Petra Hoekstra told the newspaper. “From our country of Germany, these goods are then driven to the French coast, where migrants wait ready to board.”
The crossing from France or Belgium to Great Britain is still widely used by people smugglers despite stricter controls. Every week, an average of around 2,000 people make the crossing. At least 70 people have drowned so far this year. “That doesn’t bother the smugglers, we know from wiretapped conversations,” Hoekstra said.
People smuggling on this route is very lucrative. Desperate people pay the smugglers up to 6,000 euros per person for the crossing. They advertise their “services” on social media, with videos of laughing and waving people in boats. Word of mouth is also an important route for them.
According to Hoekstra, the smugglers are often part of large, sophisticated criminal organizations that operate across borders. “There are people who look for boats and equipment, who arrange false passports or visas, or who drive the stuff around. They regularly change jobs and operate fluidly. Some simply live in the Netherlands.”
The OM and Koninklijke Marechaussee, the military policing force responsible for border security, appealed to the maritime sector to report any suspicious behavior by traders, such as a suspicious delivery address. “We are asking the maritime sector to help us catch the criminals. We want traders in nautical goods to be aware that these can be used for risky people smuggling. We ask them to be alert to indicators of people smuggling and to report suspicious situations,” Hoekstra said.
