With summer approaching, the Belgian Federal Police (a collaboration of the Coordination and Support Directorate (CSD) and Federal Judicial Police (FGP) West Flanders, the Central Directorate for Combating Serious and Organised Crime (DJSOC) Human Trafficking/Human Smuggling, the E40 Network and the Directorate of Administrative Police Operations (DAO) Migration) launched an awareness campaign. 

With the slogan 'Working together in the fight against human smuggling: HELP SAVE LIVES', the police want to encourage both nautical equipment dealers and citizens to help in the fight against human smuggling and saving lives.

Retailers are for example invited to look out for:

• Large quantities or bulk purchases of items such as life jackets
• Purchases of equipment that can serve as an alternative to life jackets (inner tubes)
• Purchases of materials for assembling boats
• Cash payments

Citizens are also invited to report suspicious circumstances such as:

• Warehouses full of boats, life jackets, motorcycles
• Vehicles (with foreign license plates) packed with boats, life jackets, motorcycles
• Large groups of people (including women and children) going out to sea in a motorised boat

All the documents (posters, leaflets and flyers) are available on this web page. You can download, print and/or send them digitally to your networks (family, friends, traders...).