Twenty-five inflatable boats believed to have been destined for people-smuggling gangs operating across the English Channel have been seized at East Midlands Airport.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) and Border Force intercepted the boats on Friday 2 October after they were identified in pallets forming part of an air freight shipment travelling from Turkey to the Netherlands.
The shipment was transiting through the freight hub at East Midlands Airport, allowing officers to intercept it before it continued its journey.
According to the NCA, the boats are around nine metres long and each could have been used to carry approximately 70 people across the Channel. The agency estimates the 25 vessels could potentially have transported around 1,700 people in total.
It is the second time this year that a large consignment of equipment suspected of being intended for small-boat crossings has been seized in the UK, but the first such detection involving air freight.
In July, 25 boats and 25 engines were intercepted in a maritime consignment at Felixstowe. The vessel carrying the equipment had stopped at the port while travelling to Germany.
NCA Deputy Director of Investigations Craig Turner said:
“We continue to target groups or individuals directly involved in the supply of boats and engines used in the Channel for people smuggling.
“This work is happening both overseas, with international partners, and here in the UK. So far it has led to the seizure of in excess of 1,600 boats and engines, denying their use to criminal networks.
“Our assessment is that this is having an impact, driving up the cost of boats and engines, making it more difficult to get them to the coast and eating into the profits of the criminal gangs involved.
“I’ve no doubt the boats we’ve seized here would have ended up being used to risk the lives of a huge number of people in the Channel had we not stepped in. Our investigation continues.”
Minister for Border Security and Asylum Anna Turley said:
“This seizure of 25 small boats delivers yet another blow to the evil smuggling gangs.
“Disruptions to supply lines like these are happening more than ever before as we bear down on the illegal and dangerous crossings.
“We are making progress, with this summer seeing the lowest number of small boat arrivals since 2020 and arrests for immigration crime up 74% on the previous year. We will continue to be relentless as we restore control to our border.”
The NCA said targeting and disrupting organised immigration crime remains a priority, with around 100 investigations into people suspected of involvement currently under way.
An assessment published by the agency last month identified restrictions on the supply of boats and engines as one of the factors affecting organised crime groups involved in Channel crossings.
It concluded that law enforcement activity had been a key factor in reducing the number of people transported illegally to the UK by small boat during the first half of 2026.
The NCA also said arrests linked to organised immigration crime involving the agency increased by more than 55% in the year to April 2026.
