 of the United Kingdom as well as Dutch and Belgian police, BBC reported.){kind=link}
A Turkish national suspected of being a significant supplier of small boats and equipment to human smugglers has been arrested in Amsterdam following a joint operation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom as well as Dutch and Belgian police, BBC reported.
The man is alleged to have supplied engines and boats to smugglers in northern France, according to the NCA.
The Turkish man, 44, whose name was not released, was arrested at Schiphol Airport on Wednesday and will be extradited to Belgium to face charges of human smuggling.
NCA Director General (Operations) Rob Jones called the arrest a milestone in one of the agency’s “most significant investigations into organized immigration crime.”
He said the man was thought to be a “major supplier” of “highly dangerous” boats and engines to smugglers operating in Belgium and northern France. The NCA said it has been investigating for several years.
Authorities said the man shipped supplies from Turkey, stored them in Germany, then transported them to northern France.
He was arrested after authorities learned he was traveling from Turkey to the Netherlands.
The man is likely to face legal proceedings in Belgium because the offenses he is suspected of committing took place there.
A spokesperson for the public prosecutor’s office of West-Flanders said international cooperation is “crucial in the fight against human smuggling.”
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the arrest as a “significant piece of the jigsaw” in tackling Channel crossings, but said he was “not pretending it [was] the silver bullet”.
“Criminal gangs have been getting away with this for far too long,” he added.
More than 50 people have died trying to cross the English Channel in 2024.
Over 32,000 people have made the crossing in 2024 so far — more than the total figure of 29,437 for 2023.