International police raids target people smugglers heading for UK
An international police crackdown is under way against people smugglers transporting migrants to the United Kingdom via France, including raids in western Germany, German police said on Wednesday.
A police spokeswoman in Dusseldorf said that the smugglers were responsible for transporting migrants originating from the Middle East and North Africa across the English Channel in inflatable boats.
More than 500 police officers were involved in the raids since early morning in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia alone, the spokeswoman said, with further operations to the south in Baden-Württemberg.
The investigations have been led by French authorities, but the police action on Wednesday was coordinated at a European level.
Officers from the European Union’s law enforcement and criminal justice bodies – known as Europol and Eurojust respectively – were taking part in the raids, as well as at least 20 French investigators.
German police have been asked to carry out more than 10 European arrest warrants, the spokeswoman added. Police described the people smugglers involved as an Iraqi-Kurdish group.
Migrants have been crossing the English Channel illegally in small boats from France in increasing numbers in recent years.
Dozens of migrants have died following accidents on the overcrowded rubber dinghies, with the French Le Parisien newspaper reporting at least 72 dead in crossings this year.
The UK has been trying to stem the flow of migrants with French help for years.
Source: dpa