NCA and Border Force officers have seized 25 inflatable boats that were destined to be shipped to cross-Channel people smugglers.

The boats, which could have carried around 1,700 illegal immigrants to the UK, were identified by the NCA and Home Office Intelligence Team in pallets on an air freight shipment being moved from Turkey to the Netherlands.

It transited through a freight hub at East Midlands Airport on the way, allowing the NCA and Border Force to move in and intercept on Friday 2 October.

The boats are around nine metres in length and, had they made it into the hands of people smugglers, each could have been used to transport around 70 people across the Channel.

It is the second time a large consignment of small boat equipment has been seized in the UK this year, but the first time such a detection has been made in air freight.

In July 25 boats and 25 engines were seized in a maritime consignment at Felixstowe. The boat carrying them had stopped there on the way to Germany.

NCA Deputy Director of Investigations Craig Turner said:

"We continue to target groups or individuals directly involved in the supply of boats and engines used in the Channel for people smuggling.

"This work is happening both overseas, with international partners, and here in the UK. So far it has led to the seizure of in excess of 1,600 boats and engines, denying their use to criminal networks.

"Our assessment is that this is having an impact, driving up the cost of boats and engines, making it more difficult to get them to the coast and eating into the profits of the criminal gangs involved.

"I've no doubt the boats we've seized here would have ended up being used to risk the lives of a huge number of people in the Channel had we not stepped in. Our investigation continues."

Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Anna Turley, said:

"This seizure of 25 small boats delivers yet another blow to the evil smuggling gangs.

"Disruptions to supply lines like these are happening more than ever before as we bear down on the illegal and dangerous crossings.

"We are making progress, with this summer seeing the lowest number of small boat arrivals since 2020 and arrests for immigration crime up 74% on the previous year. We will continue to be relentless as we restore control to our border."

Targeting, disrupting and dismantling the gangs involved in organised immigration crime remains a top priority for the NCA, with around 100 investigations into those involved ongoing.

Last month the NCA released details of an assessment, which said that supply chain constraints on boats and engines used in crossings has been a key factor impacting the organised crime groups involved.

It concluded law enforcement activity has been a key factor in bringing down the number of people transported to the UK illegally by small boat in the first half of 2026.

In the year to April 2026 arrests linked to organised immigration crime involving the NCA increased by more than 55 percent.

6 October 2026