Belgium, France Arrest 26 Migrant Smugglers Over Essex Lorry Deaths Case - Europol

Police in Belgium and France have detained 26 people involved in the incident of Vietnamese migrants frozen to death in a lorry during an attempted smuggling into the United Kingdom last fall, Europol, the European Union's Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, said in a press release on Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th May, 2020) Police in Belgium and France have detained 26 people involved in the incident of Vietnamese migrants frozen to death in a lorry during an attempted smuggling into the United Kingdom last fall, Europol, the European Union's Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, said in a press release on Wednesday.

"On the action day on 26 May 2020, officers from the Belgian Federal Police (Federale Politie/Police Fédérale) and the French Illegal Immigration Agency (OCRIEST) from the French Border Police (Police aux frontieres) carried out 27 house searches (15 in the Brussels-Capital Region and 12 in and around Paris). The operational activities led to the arrests of 26 suspected members of the criminal network (13 in Belgium and 13 in France) and the seizure of three vehicles, cash and electronic equipment," the press release read.

Suspects are believed to have been involved in smuggling of irregular migrants, mainly of Vietnamese background, through Belgium and France to the UK via the English Channel in "life-threatening conditions of transportation.

" The criminal network could have transported in such way up to several dozen people daily for several months, as stated in the press release.

In the operation, supported by Europol and EU's agency for criminal justice cooperation Eurojust, 21 irregular migrants were found � apparently hidden by the smugglers ahead of transportation � and put to safety, according to the press release.

Last October, the Essex police found bodies of 39 people frozen to death in a truck that arrived in the UK from Belgium. Initially, the victims were identified as Chinese nationals, but a few days later the Vietnamese caucus of the UK said that they were from Vietnam.