Lifejackets, rubber boats and various types of equipment used by migrants and people smugglers to cross the English Channel are being transported via the EU's external border between Bulgaria and Turkey, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on Monday (April 8). 

In a little over a year, 52 motors, 49 rubber boats, 755 hand pumps and 110 life jackets have been seized mostly on Turkish trucks traveling to western Europe via Bulgaria's Kapitan Andreevo border post – one of Europe's busiest, according to AFP.

Bulgarian border and customs authorities are now on the lookout for trucks carrying possible items to be used for irregular crossings and people smuggling across the English Channel.

Customs officers with sniffer dogs inspect hundreds of westbound trucks at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint each day after they pass through an x-ray scanner – a sniffer dog specifically trained to detect the smell of rubber was sent by British authorities, AFP reported.

How did authorities realize English Channel smuggling equipment was passing via the Bulgarian-Turkish border?

British authorities reached out to Bulgaria in late 2022 to curtail the entry into the EU of small boats used for irregular journeys across the English Channel from France to the UK.

Bulgarian customs officers first set out to prove that the boats they find are intended for the French coast where the crossings to Britain are launched, AFP reported.

"We left specific marks on the outboard motors and notified our British partners, who were then able to identify abandoned motors on the British shores," Bulgarian customs officer Georgi Gospodinov, who patrols the border with Turkey for dinghies, told AFP. 

Read more: InfoMigrants exclusive series: Bulgaria

Authorities uncovered that the same boats were later used by smugglers organizing the Channel crossings and so restricted imports of small inflatable boats, motors and life jackets into the EU, AFP added.

The unique shape of the engines is easy to detect, and with time they have become better at recognizing the bags containing the folded dinghies, according to customs officers.

The UK has a total of 1.2 million pounds (1.4 million euros) to train customs personnel and provide equipment, including surveillance drones, AFP reported.

During a visit to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia in February, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the partnership with Bulgaria was vital to stop the "illegal... terrible trade in human beings" as "many people lose their lives."

Since the beginning of 2024, at least seven migrants, including a seven-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, have lost their lives trying to reach England across the Channel. The UK's interior ministry said British officials registered 5,373 migrants arriving on the shores of southern England after crossing the Channel in small boats in the first quarter of 2024.

With AFP