Brussels Based ‘Boat Mafia’ Are Trafficking Migrants to England

Since the start of the year, over 4,000 illegal boat migrants have successfully reached English shores from France. Reports suggest that a clandestine “Boat Mafia” is operating in Brussels to establish another beachhead for the people-smuggling trade.

On Saturday, another 151 migrants reached the United Kingdom in small boats, being brought ashore by the British Border Force. The latest crossings take the total number of recorded illegal arrivals by boat to an estimated 4,100. The number has again set a yearly record and more than doubled the number of migrants for the whole of 2019.

With increased scrutiny being placed on the migrant route in the English Channel from France, a people-smuggling group has reportedly established itself in Brussels — the main seat of power for the European Union — in order to create another route for migrants illegally crossing into the United Kingdom.

An investigation brevealed that a group of human traffickers calling themselves the “Boat Mafia” have set up a human trafficking operation in Belgium to financially exploit the increasing waves of people trying to illegally make it to England.

It is estimated that there are some 1,000 migrants currently in Brussels awaiting boat transport to the United Kingdom, with traffickers offering passage for as little as £500 and a “more guaranteed crossing” package costing between £2,000 and £3,000 per migrant.

The report stated that hostels, hotels, and charity refuges are booked solid with migrants, resulting in hundreds camping out in Maximilien Park and the city’s central canal quayside.

A volunteer, who helps feed the hordes of migrants, said that “there is a real mix of people who want to discover your beautiful country,” adding: “They are mostly economic migrants, rather than refugees. Now there are more and more of them. It’s hard to feed them all.”

The migrants are mostly young men from Africa, with others hailing from Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan, and Iran. The migrants are allegedly taking to selling cocaine and marijuana in order to make enough money to pay off the boat mafia, with some even resorting to robbing other migrants at knife-point.