A dinghy carrying 61 migrants was seized while attempting to cross the English Channel, marking the first such interception of the year. Smugglers exploited a brief weather opportunity despite freezing conditions. The migrants were taken to Dover after their boat was intercepted. This incident follows a tragic December event in which four migrants died during a crossing. In 2024, about 37,000 migrants arrived via small boats, prompting concerns over safety and the effectiveness of current enforcement strategies against smugglers. Calls for safer, legal migration routes have intensified, with the government introducing measures to combat organized smuggling networks.
A dinghy carrying 61 migrants became the first small boat to be seized this year while attempting to cross the English Channel.
Smugglers crammed migrants into small boats and set sail despite frigid weather yesterday.
They reportedly took advantage of a narrow weather window to make the dangerous crossing.
The boat was taken to the port of Dover in Kent on a Border Force catamaran and was intercepted during the crossing before passing through the immigration detention center at Western Docks.
It will be the migrants’ first voyage since December 29, when four people were killed when their dinghy ran into trouble off Sangatte, near Calais on the French coast.
Three people were confirmed dead that day, but the fourth body was found on the beach in Sangatte the next day.
In 2024, 695 boats made a total of 36,816 crossings. This is the second highest annual number since records began seven years ago.
In 2022, a record 45,755 ships landed. Since Labor came to power in July last year, 424 boats have now lifted 23,303 vessels through the Strait of Dover.
First migrants of 2025 to be stopped by officials as they try to cross the Channel
Images yesterday showed dozens of migrants being met at sea by Border Force and arriving in Dover aboard a patrol boat.
Around 37,000 migrants arrived in small boats last year, new figures show.
Migrants are often given life jackets of poor quality, including those that do not work in deep water or are designed for children. One group was seen holding rubber rings.
Another factor believed to be driving the rise in deaths is that smugglers are leaving large areas of the French coast and taking more dangerous crossing routes to avoid patrols.
The Refugee Council said on Friday that ministers appeared to have “acknowledged that enforcement measures against smuggling organizations have made the journey more dangerous”.
The charity called for the government to work with France to publish quarterly data on the number of deaths, including age, gender and nationality.
He also called on ministers to set out a plan to reduce the loss of lives and to review and expand safe and legal routes into the UK.
CEO Ember Solomon said: “This year’s record death toll in the Straits should serve as a stark reminder that our current approach is not working.”
“Smuggling organizations profit from men, women and children forced into life-threatening situations and enforcement alone is not enough to address this.
“We need safer and legal routes to provide a lifeline to people fleeing war and persecution…
Border Force personnel picked up migrants at sea as they tried to cross the Channel.
“The government needs to take a different approach to ensure it does everything possible to avoid a repeat of last year’s devastating losses in 2025.”
The Home Office this week announced new plans to impose travel and social media bans on suspected smugglers in a bid to dismantle organized migrant crime networks.
Ministers will use ‘temporary’ Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPOs) to speed up the process of setting limits on who can be investigated.
Suspects may be prohibited from traveling, have no access to phones or money, and may be prohibited from associating with certain individuals.
The Home Office said the approach, which is part of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, would help crack down on people smugglers as soon as possible.
The interim order could also be used to tackle a range of other organized crimes, such as drug trafficking, fraud and prostitution, which are already subject to the SCPO.
An SCPO is a court order that can prevent, restrict or prevent a person from engaging in a serious crime.
Securing a full SCPO can be a time-consuming process, but the new interim version allows you to take action while keeping maximum order quantities in mind.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (pictured) previously said: “Dangerous criminal smugglers profit by undermining border security and putting lives at risk.” “We can’t let them escape like this.”
National Crime Agency police and other law enforcement agencies will be able to apply to the High Court to impose immediate restrictions.
Interim orders can be issued without a conviction and can be punishable by up to five years in prison if violated.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper previously said: “Dangerous criminal smugglers profit by undermining border security and putting lives at risk.”
“We cannot let them get away with it. Increased international cooperation has already resulted in significant arrests and actions against dangerous gangs in the past few months.
“We are giving law enforcement the greater powers they need to further pursue and disrupt these despicable gang networks.
“Border security is one of the cornerstones of this Government’s transformation plan, which includes improving people’s lives, delivering safer streets and strengthening the NHS, and we will continue to do everything we can for working people. Masu.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings that threaten lives and compromise border security.”
“Human smugglers don’t care whether the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay them. We will dismantle their business models and bring them to justice. I will do whatever it takes to do so.”
