A man accused of being a “major supplier” of small boats for English Channel migrant crossings has been arrested in Amsterdam.
The 44-year-old Turkish citizen is suspected of shipping dinghies and engines from Turkey and storing them in Germany, before moving them to northern France. He was detained at Schipol Airport on Wednesday after an investigation by Dutch, Belgian and British authorities. He is facing extradition to Belgium over charges of human smuggling.
“We suspect that this individual is a major supplier of boats and engines to the smugglers operating in Belgium and northern France,” said National Crime Agency director general in operations, Rob Jones. “The types of vessels and engines we see used in making these crossings are highly dangerous and completely unfit for open water. At least 50 people are known to have died this year as a result. There is no legitimate use for them.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the arrest as “good news”. “Criminal gangs have been getting away with this for far too long,” he said.
The arrest was “exactly what we want to see and it shows that our approach of working with international partners to smash the people smuggling gangs is bearing fruit”, he said.
More than 32,000 people have arrived in Britain having made the illegal journey across the English Channel by boat so far this year, according to Home Office figures. That marked an increase on last year's 26,699 cases, but a decrease on 2022’s figures of 39,929. 2022 marked a record year for crossings, however, this year has been the deadliest, with 50 deaths recorded.
The Labour government cancelled the previous Conservative government’s Rwanda plan, under which tens of thousands of asylum seekers who arrived in Britain without permission would be deported to the East African nation.
After winning the election, Labour pledged to “smash the gangs” to tackle the growth in illegal crossings.
Explaining why Thursday’s arrest was important, Mr Starmer said: “If the boats and the engines aren’t available, it obviously makes it much more difficult for these crossings to be made and we’re dealing with gangs and groups that are making a huge amount of money from this vile trade. And so it is really important that we take these vital steps against them in relation to disrupting their pattern and the way that they do their business.
“So that’s why it’s very significant that this arrest has taken place today. This is a significant piece of the jigsaw. I’m not pretending it’s the silver bullet. There are other steps that are going to be necessary. but this is a very important step.”
This week, a Home Office minister said that there have been 52 people-smuggling convictions and 24 flights of migrants sent home since the general election in July. Lord Hanson of Flint told the House of Lords that 23 of those convicted of smuggling were running small boats across the English Channel.
He added: “Since July 5 this year, we’ve had 24 flights sending people back who have no right to be in the United Kingdom, who mostly are economic migrants. And we’ve sent 46 individuals, for example, to Vietnam only on July 24 of this year. That will, I hope, in the long term send a signal about people who have a right to asylum and people who have no right to come to the United Kingdom.”
The UK's National Crime Agency said it is leading about 70 investigations into organised immigration crime or human trafficking.
The arrest of the suspected boat supplier was carried out through a Europol Operational Task Force and partners. An office for the public prosecutor's office of West Flanders said international co-operation is “crucial in the fight against human smuggling”.
“We will relentlessly pursue the criminal smuggling gangs making millions out of small boat crossings that undermine our border security and put lives at risk,” said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. “This major investigation shows how important it is for our crime-fighting agencies to be working hand in glove with our international partners to get results.”
Last month, it was claimed that more than 62,000 migrants could be granted asylum in the UK to clear the backlog of cases. The number of asylum applications waiting to be determined is expected to have reached 118,063 in January, the Refugee Council says. As many as 62,801 of them could be recognised as refugees in the UK, according to the charity.
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
MO
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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The five pillars of Islam
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
