Five Vietnamese found inside a convoy at the Hook van Holland ferry crossing; two Britons arrested
Five Vietnamese nationals were discovered hidden inside a caravan at the ferry terminal in Hoek van Holland on Saturday evening, leading to the arrest of two British men on suspicion of human smuggling, Dutch authorities confirmed.
The migrants were found during a routine vehicle inspection at the port of Hoek van Holland, as a car towing a caravan waited to board a ferry bound for the United Kingdom. Officers from the Koninklijke Marechaussee discovered the five individuals concealed inside the trailer. The vehicle’s driver and passenger, two British men aged 38 and 46, were taken into custody on suspicion of human smuggling.
Authorities said all five people found in the caravan are Vietnamese nationals. The case marks the latest in a series of recent stowaway discoveries in the region, raising concerns about renewed smuggling attempts through Dutch ports.
Just a week earlier, Marechaussee officers uncovered 17 migrants hidden inside a refrigerated trailer at the same harbor in Hoek van Holland. Among them were six minors, including children aged three and four. In another separate incident on Friday evening, five migrants from Afghanistan and Iraq were intercepted in the harbor area of Vlaardingen after being found concealed inside a truck.
A spokesperson for the Koninklijke Marechaussee described the recent string of discoveries as “striking” but cautioned against labeling it a trend. Officials noted that the overall number of stowaways detected at such locations has declined sharply in recent years.
Previously, around 600 stowaways per year were discovered attempting similar crossings. In recent years, that figure has fallen to only dozens annually, making the latest cluster of cases unusual but not yet indicative of a broader resurgence.