3 Arrested Over English Channel Migrant Deaths

Migrants are brought into Dover Port by an RNLI lifeboat after being picked up in the English Channel while trying to make the journey from France in inflatable dinghies, in Dover, England, on April 23, 2024. Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Three men were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering Britain illegally, as part of an investigation into the deaths of five migrants trying to cross the English Channel.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) and Immigration Enforcement detained two Sudanese nationals, aged 22 and 19, and a 22-year-old South Sudan national. The three men will be questioned by NCA investigators at a Kent police station.

An overloaded boat, carrying 112 migrants, left the French shores in the early hours of Tuesday morning but experienced engine difficulties shortly after.

As a result, a number of people fell into the water and five were later pronounced dead by French authorities. Three men, a woman, and a girl, were killed in the accident.

Authorities have identified another 55 people who are said to have been on board. They will be interviewed by the police in the coming days, the NCA said.

Several other boats departed from the French shore on the day amid favourable weather conditions. Home Office figures show that, in total, 402 migrants were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats on Tuesday.

The investigation into the deaths of the five people, led by the French authorities, continues in close partnership with the Border Force, Kent Police, and Immigration Enforcement.

“This tragic incident once again demonstrates the threat to life posed by these crossings and bring into focus why it is so important to target the criminal gangs involved in organising them. We will do all we can with partners in the UK and France to secure evidence, identify those responsible for this event, and bring them to justice,” said NCA Deputy Director of Investigations Craig Turner.

In a separate case, a Albanian national who organised small boats crossings for migrants, including children as young as 5, has been jailed in the UK.

Following an NCA investigation, Mustaf Cunaj, 41, who was part of a people smuggling network, was sentenced to nine years in prison on Tuesday.

Deterrence

The number of crossings since the beginning of 2024 represents a 20 percent increase on the figures from the same time last year. The Home Office has detected 6,667 migrants trying to cross to the UK so far this year, while last year the figure was 5,546. In 2022, 6,691 crossings were detected.

The latest deaths in the English Channel add to hundreds of reported deaths at sea of migrants trying to reach the UK. According to the Border Force, more than 120,000 crossings have been detected since recording began in 2018.

The Home Office also said that so far this year, the top three most common nationalities of migrants arriving on small boats are Vietnamese, Afghani, and Iranian.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said the UK government was doing everything possible to stop the illegal small boat crossings.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has stressed that the deaths of the five migrants highlighted the need for the deterrent effect of the Rwanda scheme, which has now been approved by Parliament.

Under the bill, migrants who enter Britain illegally, including those who crossed the English Channel in small boats, will be put on flights to Kigali.

“We introduced the Rwanda Bill to deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs who exploit them. The passing of this legislation will allow us to do that and make it very clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay,” Mr. Sunak said in a statement on Tuesday.

Officials opposing the scheme have argued that it won’t solve the small boats issue and a more comprehensive set of policies is required.

The government plans to get Rwanda scheme flights off the ground by July.

PA Media contributed to this report.