Eleven inflatable boats with a hard board were detained by customs officers of the Kapitan Andreevo police station during an inspection of a truck entering the country from Turkey.
On 19.05.2025, half an hour before midnight, a tractor with a semi-trailer with a Turkish registration arrived at the checkpoint. The driver - a Turkish citizen - presented documents to the customs officers for the transported groupage goods from Turkey to the UK. After a risk analysis, the vehicle was sent for a thorough customs inspection, including with specialized X-ray equipment, which marked suspicious areas in the cargo. During the subsequent physical control, customs officers discovered 11 large packages containing inflatable rubber boats with a hard board.
The boats were detained. The driver was charged under the Customs Act for attempting to transport goods across the state border without the knowledge and permission of the customs authorities.
Such vessels are used to illegally transport migrants from the European Union to the UK across the English Channel. In connection with the fight against illegal migration, the Customs Agency is carrying out increased control over the smuggling of inflatable boats and accessories for them. Criminal groups organizing the trafficking buy low-quality and cheap boats, often with low safety standards, which, together with the overloading of the vessels, is the cause of numerous accidents with deaths of those who undertake the dangerous crossing of the English Channel.