WATCH: Suspected trafficker arrested after migrant boat breakdown near Minquiers

Monday 12 July 2021

A man suspected of attempting to smuggle 27 migrants to Jersey or the UK, including 10 children and a wheelchair user, has been charged and remanded in custody in France.

The suspected people trafficker, who is facing five years in prison, was taken into police custody on Thursday 8 July and charged in Saint Brieuc on Friday evening.

The Saint Brieuc prosecutor’s office said his identity is “difficult to verify”, but that it is believed he is Kuwaiti.

Investigators are continuing to probe the potential existence of the trafficking ring, according to prosecutor Bertrand Leclerc.

The French coastal rescue authority was alerted in the early hours of Thursday morning when the migrants’ six-metre vessel was spotted drifting in the darkness, having run out of fuel and broken down south-west of the Minquiers, 33km from Saint Malo. It’s believed their boat left the previous night from a port in the region of Saint Brieuc.

Florentin Saulnier, a father and captain of the Avel Mad 1 who was pulling up whelks at the time, told Le Télégramme he spotted them 10 metres away.

Having initially reacted with shock after spotting a child he believed to be as young as 18 months old, he then called the CROSS (coastal rescue authority).

Video: Footage of the migrant boat shared by Florentin Saulnier, who shared his recollection of what happened with Le Télégramme.

“They told me to stay close, go with them and wait,” he explained. He followed with his boat over three “long” hours, never getting too close in case there were weapons on board – “my guys’ safety comes first!” he noted.

“They were out of fuel. With the swell and the wind, we drifted over 10 nautical miles. Until daybreak we were afraid of losing them.”

Around 08:30, French naval vessels and a Customs boat arrived to take over. 

Mr Saulnier said he was able to exchange a “few words” with the group.

“A man said ‘thank you’ to me when I explained that help was on the way. I also understood that some came from Kuwait. But they didn't speak French.”

The group were then taken back to Saint Malo. Six fire rescue vehicles and ambulances were in place at the harbour, where health and humanitarian aid was provided to the group.

France 3 reported that a woman in a wheelchair was taken to hospital with mild hypothermia, along with another person who said they had diabetes. Overall, authorities described the group as safe and well.

None of the 27 migrants was carrying identity papers. Vincent Lagoguey, Deputy Prefect of Saint Malo, said he believed the group to be of Arabic origin, noting that the women were all “veiled.” One of the men in the group claimed to belong to the stateless Kuwaiti minority, the Bedoons.

Checks are being carried out to establish whether they are eligible to apply for asylum. 

Investigators have since seized the boat, which was not registered and did not contain GPS or safety gear. Its owner remains unknown.

While the migrants’ intended destination is unclear, an urgent meeting was held in Jersey last week to assess the situation and to put in place "any necessary actions in light of the incident."

Those present at the meeting included officers from the Customs and Immigration Service, Police, Jersey Coastguard, Jersey Ambulance Service, Jersey Fire and Rescue Service, Emergency Planning, Health and Community Services, Testing and Tracing, Jersey Field Squardon, Communications and Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance.