British police on Tuesday arrested a man over the deaths of at least 27 people who drowned while trying to cross the English Channel in a boat last year.
The UK’s National Crime Agency said Harem Ahmed Abwbaker, 32, was arrested in the south-west English town of Cheltenham following an investigation by British and French authorities. He is accused of being a member of an organized crime gang that was behind the dangerous crossing.
Only two people survived when the packed boat sank between France and England on November 27, 2021. Twenty-seven have been confirmed dead and four are still missing.
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“The individual arrested today is suspected of playing a key role in the manslaughter of those who died,” said crime agency deputy director Craig Turner.
Dunkirk beach where 27 migrants died last year when their boat capsized while crossing the English Channel after jumping off Dunkirk beach on November 25, 2022 in Dunkirk, France.
Abwbaker is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Wednesday to face a French extradition request.
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Migrants have long used northern France as a jumping off point to reach Britain, often attempting the journey on small boats organized by smuggling gangs. More than 40,000 people have arrived in Britain after making the perilous journey across the English Channel so far this year, up from 28,000 in all of 2021 and 8,500 in 2020.
