On 4th December 2024, an operation involving law enforcement and judicial authorities from France and Germany, coordinated by Europol and Eurojust, targeted a large criminal network involved in migrant smuggling activities across the English Channel.
The French-led investigation focused on an Iraqi-Kurdish network suspected of illegally smuggling middle-Eastern and East African migrants from France to the United Kingdom using non-EU certified low-quality inflatable boats.
Over 500 officers from the German Federal Police (Bundespolizei) raided several houses and storage spaces under search and arrest warrants issued by the French Court of Lille and executed under the supervision of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Düsseldorf.
Over 20 French investigators from French Border Police (OLTIM), one analyst from the German Criminal Police (BKA), and three Europol experts were deployed to the German regions of North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Wuerttemberg to support the operational activities on the ground. One British investigator was also present as an observer.
The action day led to:
- 13 arrests (8 arrests in Germany under French judicial order and 5 in France), including 1 High Value Target
- 25 locations (15 houses and 10 storage places) searched in Germany
- Seizures of equipment include: 21 inflatable boats, 24 engines and 76 life vests, as well as over 600 inner tubes and 100 air pumps
- Other seizures include: about EUR 70 000 in cash, gold valued at more than EUR 5 000 and over 40 electronic devices
The investigation, initiated in 2024, uncovered that the suspects, Iraqi and Syrian nationals of Kurdish origin, were in Germany. Further investigation and information exchange that showed they organised the purchase and transportation of inflatable boats, which were unfit for the EU market, from Turkey through France to be stored in Germany.
Migrant smuggling: a continuously deadly threat
Migrant smuggling via small boats has steadily increased since 2019, overtaking lorries in 2021 as the most common method for smuggling migrants from the EU to the United Kingdom. However, enhanced law enforcement measures have led to a significant reduction in smuggling activities, with over 30 % fewer incidents and migrants smuggled in 2023 compared to 2022.
However, the criminal networks involved remain highly active, increasingly violent, and exceptionally adaptive, regularly employing new techniques for crossings. In the first 11 months of 2024, around 34 000 migrants and 630 boats successfully reached the United Kingdom, compared to about 28 000 migrants and 580 boats during the same period in 2023. The loss of lives has also increased; in 2024 this criminal activity led to over 70 deaths at sea, compared to 12 over the same period in 2023. Therefore, law enforcement authorities have further increased their efforts in cross-border operations such as this one.
Europol’s dedicated Taskforce to connect the dots
In July 2022, the first Operational Taskforce (OTF) targeting migrant smuggling with small boats led to the dismantling of the then-largest network smuggling migrants from France to the United Kingdom via small boats. Following this, Europol set up a second OTF to target other criminal networks smuggling migrants across the English Channel, a criminal phenomenon putting migrants’ lives at great risk. This second OTF, coordinated by Europol, involves Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
The Тaskforce targets the full chain of smuggling activities – from the recruitment of migrants through to logistical cells and up to the main organisers. Its investigative activities focus on High Value Targets, as the prosecution of these suspects is instrumental in dismantling criminal organisations as a whole. The dedicated Europol experts, who were fully involved in the work of the OTF, contributed to the identification of criminal connections between several national investigations.
Europol has established a dedicated financial instrument to facilitate such high-profile investigations and support participating countries. Europol managed the overall coordination of investigative activities, while also organising operational meetings between the members of the Taskforce.
During the action day, Europol facilitated the deployment of 20 investigators from the French Border Police (OLTIM) to several locations in Germany. In addition to these coordination activities, Europol deployed three Europol experts to the coordination centre in Cologne to assist the German authorities in cross-checking, in real time, operational information against Europol’s databases.
Eurojust enables judicial cooperation to ensure compliance of legal procedures
Eurojust enabled cross-border judicial cooperation through multiple means. Eurojust organised coordination meetings to compile and exchange existing information, to explore how to best cooperate without jeopardising each other’s investigations, and to prepare for the joint action day.
With the support of Eurojust National Desks, judicial authorities exchanged European Investigation Orders and European Arrest Warrants, and they carefully ensured that all legal instruments were in place to take action.
During the action day, the agency set up a coordination centre to facilitate rapid cooperation between the judicial authorities, ensuring cohesion and preventing legal difficulties obstructing the work of officers on the ground.
Story/Images: EUROPOL
