Understand
Small inflatable boats intended for people smugglers seized at East Midlands Airport
Overview
The National Crime Agency and Border Force have intercepted 25 inflatable boats at East Midlands Airport, believed to be destined for cross-Channel people smugglers. The nine-metre boats were found in pallets on an air freight shipment travelling from Turkey to the Netherlands. Officials stated each boat could have transported around 70 people across the Channel. This marks the first time such equipment has been detected in air freight in the UK, following a similar maritime seizure in Felixstowe earlier in the year.
Key points
- Twenty-five nine-metre inflatable boats were seized by the National Crime Agency and Border Force at East Midlands Airport.
- The shipment was intercepted on Friday while travelling in air freight from Turkey to the Netherlands.
- Officials estimate that each seized boat could have been used to transport approximately 70 people across the Channel.
- This is the first time a detection of small boat equipment has been made in air freight in the UK.
- A previous seizure involving 25 boats and 25 engines took place in July at the port of Felixstowe in Suffolk.