Germany is set to tighten its law to simplify the prosecution of people involved in smuggling migrants to the UK.
As per BBC, this is part of a new agreement between Germany and the UK, aiming to address the issue of migrant smuggling.
As part of the new agreement, the Home Office states that Germany has agreed to officially classify the activity as a criminal offence.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper labelled this agreement as "ground-breaking" and expressed that it will help in fighting against the criminal gangs responsible for organizing illegal small boat crossings.
The new UK-German agreement follows a warning from the Home Office’s Border Security Command that Channel crossings have reached their most dangerous levels ever.
Charlie Eastaugh, director of international operations at the command, said in a statement, "We've seen tyre inner tubes being used in place of life jackets, it's extraordinarily dangerous, they are death traps.”
He added, "We're seeing increased numbers in these boats because of the disruptive work we have carried out with our law enforcement partners in Europe."
The statement further added, “There are fewer boats and fewer engines in supply, we have seized over 450 boats and engines across Europe - and organised crime gangs are taking greater risks.”
This year, more than 33,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats, surpassing last year’s total of 29,000.
