A sniffer dog, part of the Dutch military police team, found men, women and children of several different nationalities in a truck at the Dutch port town Hook of Holland on Tuesday (December 5). The authorities released a statement on Wednesday afternoon, confirming the arrest of the Dutch truck driver "on suspicion of people smuggling". The passengers will be handed over to migration authorities in the Netherlands, reported AFP.

The number of migrants intercepted by Dutch authorities trying to make it to the UK is relatively low, especially compared to those crossing from France and sometimes Belgium further south. However, in 2019, the lorry that was discovered with 39 dead Vietnamese migrants in England, had passed through the nearby Belgium port of Zeebrugge.

Sniffer dogs deployed in search

In a picture released by the military police (Marechaussee), a group of migrants, their heads bowed, or covered with blankets, can be seen at the back of a lorry container, behind other cargo.

On opening the trailer, noted the police statement, some of the migrants were "immediately visible," and others were "hidden under and between goods stored in the trailer." The sniffer dogs used are trained to sniff out human scent, explained the statement.

The migrants have been taken to a Dutch reception center, stated the police. The Rotterdam Public Prosecution Service is now investigating the case.

With AP