Overview
- Savas was assessed by the UK’s National Crime Agency as a key supplier whose equipment was used in about half of 2023 small-boat crossings.
- He was arrested at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on November 13, 2024, extradited to Belgium, and admitted the offences at a Bruges hearing on December 3, 2024.
- Investigators traced a supply chain that sourced Parsun outboard engines from China, moved stock from Turkey through Bulgaria to Germany, and delivered it to northern France.
- Three co-defendants received sentences totalling 38 years, with some convicted in absentia and subject to arrest orders, according to Belgian authorities.
- The NCA says Savas charged roughly £4,000 per boat-and-engine package, made millions, and supplied equipment likely linked to fatal Channel incidents.