Belgium’s coastline has become the latest front in a high-stakes game of tactical evasion, as human traffickers appear to be shifting operations away from heavily monitored French border zones.
During a major joint operation on Thursday night, federal and local police rescued 19 migrants from a dinghy in difficulty off the resort of De Haan—an unusual location far east of traditional launch points.
While arrests were made and smuggling equipment, including outboard motors and fuel, was seized, the “cat-and-mouse” nature of the crisis is increasingly stretching local resources.
Governor Carl Decaluwé of West Flanders has issued a blunt warning: with the Easter holidays approaching, he refuses to allow a situation where “small boats carrying migrants are sailing among the surfers.”
Citing reports that around 80 migrants travelled from Dunkirk into Belgium by public transport, Decaluwé has floated closing the border with France or introducing systematic checks.
He is also looking across the Channel, urging the UK to provide high-tech detection equipment to identify “ramshackle” vessels before they reach the water.
As the smuggling problem spreads across the Flemish coast, pressure is mounting on Interior Minister Bernard Quintin to scale up federal support before the tourist season begins.
