Dutch authorities have handed over a 44-year-old man suspected of human trafficking to Belgium. The news was confirmed by the Bruges division of the West Flanders Prosecutor’s Office.
The suspect is believed to have supplied nautical equipment such as inflatable boats, outboard motors, and life jackets to human smugglers on a large scale.
A criminal organisation transported the equipment from Turkey to Germany. The items were then sent by car to the northern coast of France, where smugglers organised illegal crossings to the United Kingdom.
“The boats and motors used are extremely dangerous and absolutely not suitable for sea navigation,” the prosecutor’s office said in a press release.
According to British authorities, at least 50 people died in such crossings in 2024.
West Flanders Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Judicial Police of West Flanders (FGP) are still mapping the hierarchy of these criminal organisations. In this context, the 44-year-old Turkish man was apprehended at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands on 13 November. His arrest was seen as a major step in one of the largest investigations into organised human trafficking.
The suspect was transferred to Belgium last week. He was subsequently placed under arrest by a Bruges investigating judge on suspicion of human trafficking.
On Tuesday morning, the Bruges Council Chamber decided to extend his detention by one month.
