People-smuggling gangs are launching small boats from Belgium for the first time, according to authorities. This shift is driven by intensifying pressure from French police on traditional departure points, with Frontex confirming the shift towards Belgium had been observed since late February.
Vessels are setting off from more than 60 miles from the English coast, motoring along the Belgian and French shorelines for up to four hours in 'taxi' operations collecting migrants waiting in France before crossing, according to multiple reports. Police say smugglers are using 'taxi boats' that move along the shoreline picking up migrants before heading into the English Channel. The small number of recent launches off Belgium involved 'taxi-boats' picking up migrants in the sea before heading along the coast to France, multiple reports indicate.
Towns as far afield as De Haan, near Bruges, have been identified as launch sites according to analysis of vessel-tracking data, multiple reports indicate. Activity is concentrated along Belgium's western coastline, with beaches in De Panne, Koksijde, Nieuwpoort, and Ostend becoming launch points. Last month, a group of 22 migrants was recorded departing from Oostduinkerke beach, according to multiple reports. Belgian police said in recent weeks there has been small boat activity off coastal towns including De Panne, Koksijde and Nieuwpoort.
De Panne and Koksijde have seen increased activity with police intercepting vessels and arresting traffickers, according to multiple reports. Belgian police are intercepting migrants and suspected smugglers on a near-daily basis along the coast. The Belgian Federal Police said it was stepping up patrols on land, at sea, and from the air with Frontex aircraft deployment. Westkust Police said teams are now conducting targeted checks.
Belgium has asked the UK to step up cooperation as people-smuggling gangs increasingly launch small boats from its western coastline, according to multiple reports. Officials from Belgium and the UK are looking to deepen cooperation through closer intelligence sharing, coordination between law enforcement, and additional monitoring of the Belgian coastline, multiple reports indicate. UK Minister for Border Security and Asylum Alex Norris held talks in Belgium on tackling people smuggling following recent attempts to launch small boats from Belgian beaches, according to multiple reports. Norris met Interior Minister Bernard Quintin and Asylum and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt to discuss illegal migration, multiple reports indicate.
The UK government has assisted Belgian authorities with technology such as drones to track smugglers along the coast, according to multiple reports. The Home Office said there have been investments of around £4 million over the past two years, leading to a control room in the Port of Zeebrugge. The UK government has provided £1.3 million to Belgian law enforcement to deter smuggling attempts, according to research.
Britain is attempting to renegotiate its financial arrangement with France for policing the Channel coastline, according to multiple reports. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a two-month extension to a three-year, £475 million agreement shortly before it expired, with British taxpayers contributing a further £16.5 million, multiple reports indicate. Since the original deal was struck in 2023 under the Conservative government, crossings have risen steadily, with 41,472 people arriving on small boats in 2025 alone, according to multiple reports.
Mahmood is pushing for a new deal with performance-related clauses tying funding to the proportion of boats intercepted by French authorities, multiple reports indicate. Mark White claimed the government's 'stopping the boats' metric includes boats that get into water but don't make it to the UK due to engine failure or overcrowding, and the number stopped on French beaches is very significant.
French police have stepped up their response, deploying tear gas, slashing boats on beaches, and using drones, light aircraft, and patrol vessels to intercept launches, according to multiple reports. People smugglers are currently attempting to push small boats off the beaches of northern France, with two attempts made and at least one boat slashed by French law enforcement, multiple reports indicate. Another boat may have made it into the water with a partial load as French police intervened, according to multiple reports.
Gangs were already launching as far south as Dieppe and the River Somme estuary last year, showing expansion under enforcement pressure. Organised crime groups are adapting tactics by moving away from the heavily policed French coast near Calais and Dunkirk to quieter beaches further north, according to multiple reports. Local police suggested the recent rise in Belgian departures was because of increased pressure on smugglers in France. Officials said boat launches had previously been limited because the Channel crossing is longer from Belgium.
Around 4,766 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far this year, a 28% decrease compared to the same period in 2025 when arrivals had surpassed 6,600, according to multiple reports. Westkust Police told the BBC there were no crossings in their zone last year and at least five this year. On Wednesday night, 15 migrants were discovered near Nieuwpoort marina, police said.
Physical barriers have also been installed to make it harder to access beaches with trailers and boats, according to research. Resources are also used to prevent migrants stowing away on cross-channel freight, multiple reports indicate.
On 25 March 2026, authorities in Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, with support from Europol and Eurojust, conducted fourteen searches, including two in Belgium, according to research. Four high-value targets were arrested in Germany under the instruction of a Belgian investigating judge, while 17 individuals involved in logistical roles were also detained, research indicates. Seized items included eleven boats, engines, life jackets, weapons, cash, and electronic devices. Twelve officers from the Belgian Federal Judicial Police in West Flanders assisted German authorities on site. The arrested suspects in Germany are expected to be extradited to Belgium to face prosecution in Bruges.
Since early 2025, Belgian authorities have investigated the transit of small boats and related nautical equipment from neighbouring countries, primarily Germany, towards France, according to research. Analysts and investigators assumed from the outset that smugglers were part of larger criminal networks operating across Europe, research indicates. The investigations highlighted the risks for migrants, who rely on low-quality inflatable boats and improvised equipment, paying thousands of euros for dangerous crossings of the English Channel.
Belgian authorities emphasised that interceptions within the country prevent potentially dangerous crossings and provide support to neighbouring countries, particularly France. The operation illustrates the ongoing cooperation between Belgian judicial and law enforcement services and their counterparts in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom in addressing cross-border smuggling activities, according to research.
Authorities in Belgium have said criminal networks are using beaches along its North Sea coast to send migrants towards the UK. Police told the BBC they were stepping up patrols following attempts by smugglers to target the Belgian coast away from main launch sites in France. The Home Office said it is working with international partners to drive down small boat crossings. It is not the first time migrants have looked for new routes for boat launches, according to research.