Verdicts coming in major French trial casting light on deadly migrant-smuggling trade

Associated Press

LILLE, France (AP) — A court in northern France is preparing to announce verdicts in a major trial of people accused of participating in the lucrative and often deadly trade of smuggling migrants between France and the U.K. The 18 defendants were swept up in a major European police operation in July 2022. The court in Lille is to issue verdicts Tuesday afternoon. The trial has shed light on the migrant-smuggling business in what has been a particularly deadly year for the many thousands of men, women and children who attempt the France-to-Britain sea crossing on small and often dangerously overloaded boats.