Overview
- The French government announced a comprehensive plan to combat migrant smuggling, including enhanced intelligence coordination and advanced technology deployment.
- In 2024, more than 4,000 smugglers were arrested, with 269 trafficking networks dismantled, including 22 specifically targeting small-boat crossings to the UK.
- Small-boat crossings across the English Channel rose by 24% last year, with over 36,000 migrants reaching the UK and 78 reported deaths during these perilous journeys.
- The smuggling networks exploit migrants through forced labor, extortion, and violence, often using unsafe, makeshift boats for crossings.
- The Office of Migrant Smuggling Control (Oltim) will collaborate with multiple agencies, bolstered by new legal tools and financial tracking measures to disrupt trafficking operations.