site.btaInflatable Boats Apparently Intended to Transport Illegal Migrants across English Channel Seized at Bulgarian-Turkish Border

Bulgarian customs officers have seized 20 inflatable boats at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint on the border with Turkiye from a truck and a cargo van. The Customs Agency conducted an anti-smuggling operation along with the Border Police, the General Directorate Combating Organized Crime and the National Revenue Agency.

It can be safely assumed that such vessels are intended to transport illegal migrants from Europe across the English Channel to Britain.

On June 9, 16 boats measuring 3 by 8 metres were impounded from a Turkish-registered truck bound for Germany. A statement of violation was drawn up against the driver.

Four inflatable liferafts were discovered during a three-day practical training involving officers from British law enforcement agencies under a joint exchange programme focused on strengthening border security. The liferafts were seized from a Turkish-registered cargo van bound for France. They have a capacity of 16 persons and weigh 130 kg each. The liferafts were declared under a different tariff code in the customs documents.

The need to fight organized crime groups that take migrants across the English Channel was brought up on November 13, 2023, by the then UK minister of state for immigration Robert Jenrick during a visit to Kapitan Andreevo. Jenrick and Bulgaria's Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov signed a joint statement on enhanced cooperation to counter illegal migration.