At least 25 inflatable boats and 25 outboard engines which would have been delivered to people smuggling gangs have been seized at Felixstowe, as part of a National Crime Agency investigation.

NCA officers, working with specialist search teams from Border Force and with the full co-operation of the Port of Felixstowe, made the massive seizure on Saturday 18 July.

The ten-metre long rubber boats and Parsun outboard engines were in a container that was being shipped from China.

This is believed to be the first time a bulk consignment of boats and engines destined for people smugglers has been seized in the UK.

It means that since the Agency started targeting equipment supply chains in early 2023 more than 1,500 boats and engines have been intercepted by the NCA and international partners.

The next stop after Felixstowe for the vessel transporting them would have been Hamburg, Germany, where investigators believe the cargo would have been offloaded.

Germany is a well-known staging post for boats and equipment used by cross-Channel people smugglers in northern France and Belgium.

Each boat could have carried around 80 people, which means had they made it to the French coast they could have been used to risk the lives of around two-thousand people in the English Channel.

There is no suggestion that the crew or operators of the ship knew what was in the container.

The NCA investigation into those involved in organising the shipment continues, and involves international law enforcement partners.

NCA Branch Commander Adam Berry said:

“This was a significant seizure of small boat equipment which will put a huge dent in the profits of the criminal network involved.

“It will also have stopped these dangerous boats and under-powered engines being used to put lives at risk in the Channel.

“Once we identified that the shipment would pass through a UK port on its way to Germany, we were able to work quickly with our partners at Border Force to ensure it would go no further.

“Targeting the supply lines of people smuggling gangs is just one way we are trying to disrupt them. Our investigation continues.”

Border Security Commander, Duncan Capps CBE, said:

“This seizure delivers yet another serious blow to the criminal gangs facilitating dangerous and illegal Channel crossings.

“Thanks to the hard work of the NCA, Home Office intelligence teams and Border Force officers, disruptions like these to criminal networks and their supply lines are happening more than ever before.

“We will continue to investigate, pursue and detain all those smuggling flimsy small boat equipment, and ensure that they face the full force of the law.”

Tackling organised immigration crime remains a top priority for the NCA, which is putting more resource into targeting the criminal networks behind it than ever before. This is bringing operational results with increases in seizures, arrests and disruptions.

The Agency currently has more than 100 investigations ongoing into individuals or networks involved in people smuggling.

22 July 2026