NCA and Border Force seize 25 inflatable boats at East Midlands Airport

On 2 October, the National Crime Agency and Border Force seized 25 inflatable boats at East Midlands Airport, equipment that could have carried around 1,700 illegal immigrants across the Channel.

Each nine‑metre boat could transport about 70 people, and the haul follows a similar seizure of 25 boats and 25 engines at Felixstowe in July, with the NCA reporting more than 1,600 boats and engines seized to date and about 100 ongoing investigations into organised immigration crime.