The Home Secretary has finalised an intelligence-sharing agreement with Belgium in a bid to prevent migrant boats setting sail from the country.
Ministers hope the pact will allow law enforcement in both nations to act more swiftly against people smuggling and organised criminal networks.
Belgian officers will now join the UK-France intelligence cell located in northern France, according to the Home Office.
The deal was signed on Wednesday by Shabana Mahmood and Belgian interior minister Bernard Quintin. Increased French policing near Calais is likely to force smuggling gangs further along the coast to avoid detection.
Earlier this week, a boat departing Cherbourg — roughly 280 miles from Calais — was intercepted off Hampshire after one of the longest journeys recorded. That rare arrival near Portsmouth triggered hostile protests.
While dinghy departures from Belgium rose earlier this year, they remain less common than launches from France.
The deal has been struck in an attempt to stop small boat crossings
Speaking about the deal, the Home Secretary said: “This agreement will help UK and Belgian police tighten the net around the criminal gangs behind small boat crossings.
“The migrant smuggling trade doesn’t start and stop on the beaches of northern France.
“These gangs operate across borders, so we’ll work with every international partner available to track them down, shut them down and bring them to justice.
“Our efforts are delivering results. Small boat crossings are down significantly. But we know there is much more to do.
“I will do whatever it takes to bear down on these vile criminals and bring them to justice.”
Before the agreement, specific information exchanges required judicial approval, the Home Office noted. The pact may also help combat broader organised crime, including drugs and firearms smuggling.
Mr Quintin said: “Belgium and the United Kingdom are neighbouring countries and friendly nations.
Shabana Mahmood and Belgian interior minister Bernard Quintin signed the deal on Wednesday (PA Wire)
“We have close operational police cooperation, which has already delivered very concrete results both on the ground and in investigations.
“Our shared ambition is to continue working together to combat migrant smuggling and drug-related organised crime, which operate on both sides of our borders and exploit human misery.
“This text strengthens our tools to fight these crimes together, with ever greater effectiveness.”
Joint enforcement between both countries has already led to more than 50 arrests connected to migrant smuggling, the Home Office added.