According to Jodts, the federal police already had 86 files on human smuggling in West Flanders this year, compared to 21 last year. In addition, 55 people have already been arrested, compared to 24 last year. The files on human smuggling are centralized in the Veurne department with three specialized magistrates. But the increase in workload is “enormous”, it was said.
Decathlon
The problem was initially concentrated on the West Coast, but has now affected the entire coastal region and even deeper areas, Jodts outlined. For example, smugglers purchase life jackets in Roeselare. According to Jean-François Minet of the Interdepartmental Coordination Cell to combat smuggling and human trafficking, staff at the Decathlon retail chain are even asked to report suspicious purchases.
Not only do the criminal gangs saddle the police and the public prosecutor’s office with a lot of extra work, this also applies to the transmigrants themselves. According to Jodts, this handling should be possible “much faster” by immediately transferring them to the Immigration Office to deport them from the country, instead of first calling in the local police. “Now the handling is very disheartening for the police and the public prosecutor’s office: a few days later the same migrants appear again.”
Fulfillment center
Last week, the police argued for the establishment of an IO processing center in West Flanders, but Director General Freddy Roosemont has little interest in this, it became clear in parliament on Tuesday. “The Immigration Office is not a police service. We can only play a fairly marginal role in a processing center. The Aliens Act only allows us to detain migrants if rapid removal to the country of origin is possible, or if asylum has previously been applied for in another European country.”
