Channel Smugglers Switch to "Megaboats" After Police Crackdown on the Trade

In the first half of August, a 15-metre boat carrying a record 230 migrants reached the British coast. Footage of this "megaboat" sparked a wave of criticism, with British authorities accused of failing to control migration across the Channel and French police blamed for not stopping the vessel.

Subsequent journalistic investigations, however, revealed that the construction of such giant boats is in fact a forced response by smugglers to police action in both countries, which has depleted their stocks of ordinary small boats. Criminal gangs that only recently were competing with one another are now being forced to team up in order to move as many migrants as possible using fewer boats.

Police intercepting two-thirds of crossings

According to French police, around two-thirds of migrant boats are now being stopped before they reach the coast. Between June and August, only 102 boats made it to Britain — the lowest summer figure since 2019, when there were 57.

This has also driven up the price of the crossing. A year ago, migrants paid around €1,300 (roughly 31,500 crowns) for the journey across the Strait; now the price has risen to about €2,000 (around 48,400 crowns). Smugglers, according to reports, are also now demanding payment exclusively in cash.

Macron's visit and disagreements between the two countries

British and French authorities recently announced an increase in the number of police officers deployed to the French coast. The move comes ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to London on Thursday — the first state visit hosted by Andy Burnham in his role as British prime minister.

Nevertheless, disagreements persist between the two countries over instructions given to French police not to stop boats that are already in the water. This rule was introduced to reduce the risk of migrant deaths during police intervention attempts. As a result, smugglers now launch boats in locations different from where migrants board them, with some boats even setting off from neighbouring Belgium.

Despite the increasingly difficult conditions, thousands of people are still waiting on the French coast for their turn to cross to the other side of the Channel. For smugglers, this remains a lucrative source of income — one that makes it worthwhile to keep searching for new ways to outmanoeuvre the police.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz