"It is the latest of several trials in France targeting smugglers, but one of the first to target a group using so-called "taxi boats", a technique used since 2023 in which they taxi along the shore in dinghies to pick up migrants after they have already waded into the water. France and Britain have vowed to crack down on people smugglers who heap migrants on flimsy vessels to make the dangerous crossing in exchange for thousands of dollars."
"But so far France has stopped migrants only on the beach - not already in the water - leading smuggling gangs to start picking up migrants in the sea. The waves and overcrowding, combined with the fact that many people trying to make the crossing cannot swim, make these boardings particularly dangerous. The 17 men on trial in the northern city of Lille include eight Syrians, as well as Libyans, Iraqis and Tunisians among other nationalities."
Prosecutors in France are seeking prison terms of one to nine years for 17 men accused of operating dinghy "taxi boats" to ferry migrants across the English Channel. The technique involves skiff drivers taxiing along the shore to pick up migrants after they wade into the water, increasing danger from waves, overcrowding and many migrants' inability to swim. The defendants include Syrians, Libyans, Iraqis and Tunisians and are accused of organising about 50 crossings in 2023. Four defendants face manslaughter charges after a 24-year-old Eritrean woman died during an attempted crossing on September 26, 2023. The trial in Lille continues through December, with a verdict expected in January.
Read at The Local France
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