70% of all transmigrants found in Belgium in 2024 were found in West Flanders
According to a report commissioned by the governor of West Flanders, a total of 632 transmigrants were caught in the province in 2024, while in 2023 there were fewer than 400. The province's share of interceptions also went up. West Flanders accounted for about 70% of all transit migrants intercepted in Belgium in 2024, compared to around 50% in previous years.
On 24 January 2025, the governor of West Flanders, Carl Decaluwé, revealed that the number of transmigrants in West Flanders has risen again in 2024. Most transmigrants in 2024 came from Eritrea, Sudan and Iraq.
Mr Decaluwé underlined that more transmigrants also tried to climb into trucks to ride along. Just over 10 percent of transmigrants were found in a refrigerated container in 2024. In a number of cases, the transmigrants themselves sent out an emergency call to be freed from the refrigerated container. This recalls the tragic incident of 23 October 2019 when the bodies of 39 Vietnamese nationals were found in the trailer of an articulated refrigerator lorry in Grays, Essex, United Kingdom. The trailer had been shipped from the port of Zeebrugge Belgium, to Purfleet, Essex, UK.
Mr Decaluwé stressed that local police services tackle a national problem but that there is insufficient manpower for this. He underlined that he has been advocating for more federal support for years and that more effort should be made to use innovative techniques to tackle the problems.
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