Thursday, November 25, 2021
After an accident with dead
The English Channel smuggler came from Germany
After the tragic accident in the English Channel with at least 27 dead, first details about the arrested smugglers are known. France and Great Britain now want to cooperate to stop people smuggling more quickly.
An alleged smuggler arrested after the sinking of a migrant boat in the English Channel at night came from Germany. “The smuggler we arrested last night had German license plates,” said France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin to RTL. “He bought these rubber boats in Germany.” In general, many of the boats used by smugglers on the Channel coast came from the Federal Republic. “The smugglers buy these inflatable boats in Germany with cash.”
In the wreck of the boat, which was on the way to Great Britain, 27 people were killed on Wednesday, according to a preliminary assessment. In the evening, four allegedly involved smugglers were arrested, a fifth then in the night, as Darmanin said. Just a week ago, the Dutch police stopped a suspected smuggler coming from Germany on the motorway towards France.
After the sinking of the migrant boat, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed steps to prevent further such dramas. Both had agreed on increased efforts to stop smugglers who put people’s lives at risk, the British side said after the phone call on Wednesday evening.
At the same time, Macron and Johnson emphasized the importance of close cooperation with Belgium, the Netherlands and other partners on the continent. According to the Elysée Palace in Paris, Macron expressed the expectation that the British would be willing to cooperate and not instrumentalize the refugee drama for political purposes. It must be acted in a spirit of cooperation and with respect for human dignity.