The UK government has activated a counter-terror policy allowing authorities to seize mobile phones from illegal migrants without arresting them, aiming to disrupt smuggling networks facilitating dangerous small boat crossings.
According to the Home Office, officers may also ask migrants to remove coats for phone searches and even check mouths for hidden SIM cards. The National Crime Agency said the intelligence collected could accelerate investigations into smuggling gangs.
Border security minister Alex Norris said: “We promised to restore order and control to our borders, which means taking on the people smuggling networks behind this deadly trade… That is exactly why we are implementing robust new laws with powerful offences to intercept, disrupt and dismantle these vile gangs faster than ever before and cut off their supply chains.”
Ministers emphasized that phone seizures would consider individual circumstances, with the possibility of devices being returned depending on what is found.
Migration and citizenship minister Mike Tapp said: “If people have devices… that could hold intelligence, then we are right to be able to seize that. But that doesn’t take away compassion.” The new law also introduces offences that could carry up to 14 years in prison for storing or supplying boat engines for migrant transport.
Martin Hewitt, leading efforts to curb Channel crossings, noted that his unit has already disrupted over 4,000 smuggling operations, seizing cash and convicting key players, and described the new measures as a “key moment to go further with extra tools to crack down on smugglers.”