The department, which has a responsibility to maintain vigilant border controls to Britain as part of the Island’s place in the Common Travel Area, also briefed crews on what to do if they see any suspicious boats that may be carrying migrants across the Channel.
Earlier this year, on the Normandy coast near Carteret, French authorities intercepted a group of migrants that were believed to be heading for the Channel Islands by boat.
It is understood that facilitators – criminals who accept money to smuggle
migrants across borders – were later arrested by French officers. Don Thompson, the president of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, confirmed that Customs officers had contacted him to open a dialogue between them and the fishing industry and to ask them to keep an eye out for anything suspicious while on the water.
Don Thompson, the president of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, confirmed that Customs officers had contacted him to open a dialogue between them and the fishing industry and to ask them to keep an eye out for anything suspicious while on the water.
