New scanners have been installed at the Jabbeke car park on the E40 motorway south of Ostend that can check lorries for the presence of people in the hold. The scanners pick up digital signals and notify the driver via an app if there are people in the back of the lorry.
“The app shows if mobile phones are present in the truck. In large numbers, this indicates the presence of transmigrants in the hold,” said West Flanders governor Carl Decaluwé. “We want to make it a lot harder for people smugglers.”
Once their load has been scanned, drivers can obtain a Green Lane stamp, which will speed up their check-in procedures at destination ports. The system is due to be rolled out to other car parks in Europe.
"We want to make it a lot harder for people smugglers"
Revamping the car park in Jabbeke involves an investment of 16.5 million euros. Fencing, ANPR cameras and an alarm system have been installed and a security firm monitors the site remotely.
“West Flanders is an important hub in the logistics network towards the seaports in Belgium and France, with not infrequently the UK as the next destination,” said Decaluwé. “In recent years, we have fought against people smuggling on our territory in every possible way and quite successfully.”
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