Small Boats

Human smuggling via small boats 

Report suspicious situations 

So-called small boats are often inflatable rubber boats fitted with an outboard motor. In recent years, they have become the primary means used by criminal organisations to attempt to smuggle transmigrants across the Channel to the United Kingdom. This usually takes place from the French coast, and increasingly this year also from the Belgian coast. Crossing the Channel in such a small boat is extremely dangerous. 

Too many people – including children – are crammed together without life jackets, and the boats are often of poor quality. On 19 March 2026, around 19 people were rescued after drifting for hours off our coast in a damaged small boat with a defective engine. 

For this reason, the Federal Police are relaunching the campaign “Let’s join forces in the fight against human smuggling: help save lives”. They are once again calling on the public to report suspicious situations via the app or the emergency number 112. 

Thanks to these reports, the police can intervene (more quickly) in life-threatening situations, prevent a small boat from departing, check potential suspects involved in human smuggling, and so on. 

What should you look out for? 

Which suspicious situations related to human smuggling via small boats can and should you report via the emergency number or the 112 app? 

• Suspicious vehicles – usually with foreign licence plates – heading towards the northern French or Belgian coast and loaded with boats, jerrycans, engines, etc. These vehicles usually have tinted windows. The boats are foldable and may be stored in a large box or bag. Such situations may, for example, be noticed at a petrol station. 
• Suspicious objects in the dunes, such as hidden boats or engines, or abandoned jerrycans, sleeping bags or tents. 
• Large groups heading out to sea in a small boat at night or in the early morning. 

Criminal organisations 

International criminal organisations earn vast sums of money from human smuggling to the United Kingdom and, without any scruples, put the lives of transmigrants at risk. 

In addition to the many on-the-ground checks carried out by the Local Police and the Federal Police, the services of the Federal Judicial Police and the Justice authorities are working intensively to dismantle the smuggling networks behind the flow of transmigrants. 

For example, on 25 March 2026, four key figures of a smuggling organisation were arrested in Germany on the order of the investigating judge in Bruges, as part of a case handled by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office. 

Disrupting the supply chain 

Criminal organisations transport large quantities of boats, life jackets and other nautical equipment to the northern French or Belgian coast, usually from Germany. 

The Integrated Police carry out targeted checks to disrupt the supply chain of smuggling networks and intercept vehicles loaded with nautical equipment before they reach their final destination. Tips from members of the public can play a crucial role in this effort. 

Help spread our message and save lives 

Share our social media posts and/or download the posters and/or flyers below and distribute them in your local area.