Germany Carries Out First Raids Under New Law Targeting Channel Smugglers

Germany Carries Out First Raids Under New Law Targeting Channel Smugglers

Germany has carried out its first raids under a new law aimed at disrupting people-smuggling networks that use the country as a staging point for small-boat crossings of the English Channel to Britain. The raids were conducted as part of a joint operation involving German, French and British authorities in North Rhine Westphalia earlier this year. Police seized more than 9,000 life jackets, dozens of inflatable boats and engines, and about 360 pumps. British investigators estimate the equipment could have been used to transport more than 2,000 people across the Channel.

German authorities have increasingly focused on the country’s role in the supply chain behind Channel crossings. Criminal networks are believed to store boats, engines and other equipment in warehouses and garages in western Germany before moving them towards northern France, where crossings are launched. The equipment is often manufactured in China and transported through other countries before reaching Germany. Some of the seized items were reportedly packaged into so-called “go kits”, containing boats and equipment ready to be transported to the French coast. Germany introduced the new legislation in December, specifically criminalising the facilitation of illegal migrant smuggling to the UK. Previously, German anti-smuggling provisions largely focused on movement within the EU’s free-movement area. Britain’s departure from the European Union created a legal gap concerning organised smuggling operations targeting the UK. German prosecutors cautioned that the amended law remains relatively new and has yet to be extensively tested in court. The raids form part of a wider British-led effort to target the organised criminal networks supplying the boats rather than focusing solely on migrants after they reach Britain.

The UK National Crime Agency says it has seized more than 1,000 boats and engines since early 2023, including more than 500 during 2025. It currently has more than 100 investigations into organised immigration crime. Despite increased enforcement, smugglers continue to adapt their methods, including using increasingly large inflatable boats capable of carrying hundreds of people. The latest German operation highlights the growing cooperation between Britain and European countries as authorities attempt to disrupt the supply chain before boats reach the Channel.