A supplier of small boats used by human smugglers active in Belgium and France was arrested in the Netherlands on Wednesday, Eurojust announced in a press release.
The 44-year-old Turkish suspect was arrested shortly after arriving at Amsterdam's airport. He is set to be extradited to Belgium to face charges for membership of a criminal network dedicated to people smuggling.
The suspect is thought to have been running an operation that transported supplies from Turkey to people smugglers in Northern France and Belgium.
According to Eurojust, the Netherlands is well-known hub for criminal networks involved in people smuggling operations. Boats are often transferred from there to Belgium or France, where they are used to smuggle people through the English Channel to the UK.
These boats are often unfit for open water, leading to multiple casualties. In 2024, over 50 people died attempting to make the crossing.
The arrest was a result of a joint operation between Belgian, Dutch, and UK authorities, Eurojust and Europol.
