UK officers seize 25 inflatable boats in airport freight shipment
The NCA says the seizure at East Midlands Airport is its first detection of a large consignment of small-boat equipment in air freight.
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Officers intercepted 25 inflatable boats in an air-freight shipment passing through East Midlands Airport. The National Crime Agency (NCA) described it as the first detection of a large consignment of small-boat equipment in air freight. The boats were reportedly destined for cross-Channel people smugglers, though their intended recipient has not been established. [1]
The NCA said the boats, each about nine metres long, were found packed in pallets on a shipment travelling from Turkey to the Netherlands. NCA and Border Force officers intercepted it on Friday. The agency estimated that, had the boats reached smugglers, they could have been used to carry up to 1,700 people across the Channel. [1]
NCA officers said this was the second large consignment of small-boat equipment seized in the UK this year. In July, 25 boats and 25 engines were seized from a maritime shipment at Felixstowe, according to the BBC. [1]
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