Hold the front page. The government may have finally smashed part of a people-smuggling gang, or as word-mangling Keir Starmer put it in a piece to camera, a ‘people-smaggling gun’.
The details are as follows: a 44-year-old Turkish national was arrested at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam in an operation involving the UK National Crime Agency and its partner bodies in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Good news that a man suspected of being a significant supplier of small boat equipment has been arrested.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) November 14, 2024
I want to thank @NCA_UK and their Dutch and Belgian counterparts for their work on this investigation.
Our approach to smashing criminal gangs is already having an impact. pic.twitter.com/54OkF7mIJY
He now faces extradition to Belgium to face charges of being involved in human smuggling via the transit of boats and engines from Turkey to a storage unit in Germany and then on to northern France.
According to Starmer, the arrest shows the government’s focus on breaking the supply of boats is now ‘bearing fruit’.
The overall story of Labour’s approach to ending the illicit cross-Channel traffic has been one of predictable and lamentable failure
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper added that: ‘This major investigation shows how important it is for our crime fighting agencies to be working hand in glove with our international partners to get results.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in