British Border Officers Help Fight People Smugglers in Balkans

Iillegal migrants (BETAPHOTO/INTERIOR MINISTRY/)

British border security officers have been deployed in the Balkans for the first time in order to break the networks which smuggle migrants into the United Kingdom, it was announced on Oct. 16.

Officers from the UK have been sent to develop new ways of cooperation with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) in order to locate and arrest the smugglers who operate along the key routes toward Western Europe. Within the initiative, British officers will train border officers throughout the Western Balkans in using British-made drones and biometric systems for monitoring migrants, the Guardian daily reported on Oct. 16.

Furthermore, British officers will share with their Balkan counterparts the techniques for discovering visa and passport fraud, in order to stop migrants before they reach the English Channel. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood hosted the colleagues from the Western Balkans and other European countries at a summit in London this week, the goal of which was to advance cooperation in the fight against illegal migration.

Mahmood stated that she had instructed British law enforcement organs to explore all possibilities, including deployment in the Western Balkans, in order to tackle illegal migrant routes. According to the figures of the British Home Office, organized gangs smuggled around 22,000 people via the Western Balkans last year.