Channel people smugglers shift base to Belgian coast as France tightens controls
"France has become stricter", said Jean-Marie Dedecker, mayor of the seaside town of Middelkerke.
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‘Violent Iraqi ex-soldiers protect people smugglers’, Belgian police chief warns
"Normally, we try to puncture the boat beforehand to prevent the crossing to the United Kingdom".
Thousands of African migrants flock to Spanish embassies hoping to profit from mass regularisation
Large crowds of migrants, including many from African countries, have formed outside Spanish consulates and foreign embassies across Spain as the government’s…
Belgium’s growing appeal as migrant route to UK
A growing number of migrants are attempting to reach the UK by departing from the Belgian coast, showing a shift in smuggling routes along the English Channel.
Four dead in failed English Channel crossing
Four migrants — two men and two women — drowned during a failed “taxi-boat” attempt to cross the English Channel from the beach near Équihen-Plage in the…
Record number of migrant deaths in Mediterranean for early 2026
The first two months of 2026 saw a record number of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, despite fewer crossing attempts towards Europe, according to data from the…
Poland charges gang with falsifying documents for migrants to enter EU
A dozen people have been indicted regarding the issuing of more than 1,000 false documents from three private universities to enable migrants to enter the European…
Gang racks in millions by smuggling migrants daily into the EU
Hundreds of migrants, up to 480 per day, were trafficked into the European Union, mostly ending up in Germany and the Netherlands, via the Balkan route, authorities…
Scandal: Prominent Tusk allies implicated in Polish people-smuggling
An illegal migrant smuggling network involved civil society groups that prominently backed Donald Tusk's coalition parties in the last election, a Polish broadcaster…
Smugglers who allegedly trafficked thousands of illegal migrants to EU arrested
In a co-ordinated European policing action, key figures of an alleged people-smuggling ring responsible for thousands of illegal migrant transfers have been arrested.
Calls for Bulgarian minister to resign for allegedly ‘turning blind eye’ to €6m smuggling ring
Bulgaria’s interior minister faced calls to resign after WhatsApp messages revealed officials had allegedly turned a blind eye to a €6 million smuggling operation…
Illegal migration to Europe continues to decline, says border agency
Irregular border crossings into European countries in the first two months of 2025 have gone down by 25 per cent compared to one year ago, according to European…
Eritrean people-smugglers slammed in report
A group of Eritrean people-smugglers were involved in widespread human trafficking and committed violent atrocities against migrants, a report by the Dutch National…
Irregular migration into EU drops sharply in 2024, EU border agency says
The number of migrants entering the European Union by irregular routes dropped overall by 38 per cent in 2024, reaching the lowest level since 2021, the EU border…
UK detains hundreds in Northern Ireland in crackdown on people-smugglers
Hundreds of people have been detained in Northern Ireland as they attempted to cross into Britain during an operation designed to crack down on human traffickers,…
Almost 2,000 alleged smugglers arrested under German border controls
Germany's border controls have successfully targeted illegal border crossing into the country, according to published figures.
Spanish police dismantle criminal immigration organisation
The Spanish National Police confirmed on July 22 that they have dismantled a criminal organisation with the arrest of 25 individuals following an investigation launched…
Frontex: Illegal migration from Western Africa to EU up by 541 per cent in first two months of 2024
Illegal border-crossings into the European Union are maintaining their rising overall level - but the routes used by illegal immigrants are changing.
Niger junta reneges on EU migration deal, reopening Mediterranean floodgate
The junta in Niger has repealed anti-migration legislation designed to limit the mass influx of West African arrivals to Europe
Seven dead in German road accident involving suspected human trafficker
Seven people have been killed in a road accident involving a suspected human trafficker, German media have reported.
UK defends immigration strategy despite Channel deaths
The British Government has defended its immigration strategy after six people drowned and more than 50 needed rescuing when the small boat they had boarded to cross…
Small migrant-boat landings in UK top 100,000 since 2018
The number of small boats carrying migrants across the English Channel to the UK has topped 100,000 since 2018, according to latest figures from the UK Home Office.
Migrant-boat shipwreck off Italian island ‘leaves 41 dead’
As many as 41 migrants have reportedly died following a shipwreck off the Italian island of Lampedusa, according to four people claiming to be the only survivors…
Four-month-old corpse found at Ryanair hub in Belgium
The four-month-old corpse of a 54-year-old man has been found at Charleroi airport in Belgium. The man, named locally as Spanish national José A.T.