Two men have reportedly been jailed for the first time under a new smuggling crackdown in France. Authorities in the country introduced new powers to arrest suspected people smugglers on the water in December.
Two teenagers were sentenced earlier this month after being stopped on a boat on a canal which runs through Gravelines, according to reports. The beaches of the town on France’s north coast are a popular launch site for small boats carrying migrants across the English Channel to southern England. The new powers were adopted amid growing anger in the UK over France’s attempts to stop migrants in small boats, with French authorities previously insisting arrests in so-called maritime intercepts were too dangerous and against maritime law.
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, expressed concerns that only two people have been sentenced under the powers so far.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: “These stats show the tactic is just a gimmick. The French and Labour want to give the impression they are serious about wanting to stop the crossings and tackle the gangs but they are not.
“It’s not a priority for them and neither is stopping the enormous cost to the British taxpayer. This figure is really poor. It’s really frustrating they are not doing anything to actually stop this problem. It’s disgraceful.”
An 18-year-old Iranian, named only as Aram M., and a 19-year-old Afghan, Ahmed D., were both sentenced at Dunkirk Criminal Court on March 6, according to the Mail.
The trial of the pair was reportedly fast-tracked, being prosecuted and sentenced just three days after being arrested on the Aa canal.
Aram M. was given an 18-month sentence for piloting a ‘taxi boat’, launched as a relatively empty vessel, the Mail reported.
Ahmed D. reportedly was on board the inflatable boat and was jailed for six months for assisting illegal migration.
It is said Ahmed D., who insisted he was a genuine asylum seeker wanting to reach Britain and not a people smuggler, had a previous conviction for the same offence.
The boat was supposed to pick up migrants from shallow waters at a nearby beach before heading towards the UK, reports say.
A French prosecuting source told the Mail the pair were “the first to be imprisoned following the adoption of the new maritime policy”.
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