CALAIS STOWAWAY - FRANCE

CLANDESTINITY WATCH EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY

CASE FILE STOWAWAY LUGAGGE SET CASE NAME

CASE

#

003 - 7109 - 01, 02

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

CASE NUMBER

003-7109-01 FILE NAME

SIGNATURE

PERSON REPORTING

PRESUMED OWNER

PRESUMED FUNCTION

CONTEXT OF RECOVERY

OBJECT TYPE

CALAIS STOWAWAY

LUGGAGE

SHOPPING BAG

GARMENT

OTHER

LOCATION OF RECOVERY

DATE OF RECOVERY

TIME OF RECOVERY

Calais “jungle”

2.06.15

5.05 pm

The item was found in one of the migrant camps scattered around Calais and known as “the jungle”. Hidden between makeshift tents and shelters, it was noticed because of the peculiar modifications applied to the standard model of a checkered storage/shopping bag, often recalled as “china bag”or “Ghana must go bag”.

Device aimed at containing personal items, potentially modified to facilitate passage through security controls al Ferry Port (climbing on commercial vehicles, hiding from thermal imaging cameras)

LAST PERSON WHO HAS BEEN NOTICED NEAR THE AREA OF RECOVERY / ITEM

- female, middle-eastern, age 20-25, about 165 cm tall dark jacket, jeans, wool cap.

THE ITEM HAS BEEN DISCOVERED BY AN OFFICIER

YES

see a.

NO

a.ID NUMBER

048-XDNLS

b.NAME

ADDRESS

see b.

DISTRIBUTION: (ORIGINAL TO RECORDS)

X

ADMIN

INVESTIGATIONS

THIS REPORT IS CONFIDENTIAL AND FOR UFFICIAL USE ONLY

OTHER

CLANDESTINITY WATCH EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY

TECHNICAL PACKAGE 003 - 7109 - 01

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

CASE NUMBER

003-7109-01 FILE NAME

CALAIS STOWAWAY

OVERALL APPEARENCE OF THE ITEM

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

A

SOFT LADDER

B

HOOK

C

MIGRANT BAG

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

ITEM NAME

003-7109-01 FILE NAME

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

MARKER NUMBER

CASE NUMBER

CALAIS STOWAWAY

ITEM APPEARENCE

A

migrant bag

Large, very sturdy, rectangular bag, with a zipper and two handle grips; it’s made of woven PP and connoted by a highly recognizable chequered pattern (tartan, usually red and blue).

B

soft ladder

Handle grips from other bags of the same kind seem to have been attached to each other,obtaining a small soft ladder.

The owner probably just finished assem bling it and planned on keeping the ladder attached to the body of the bag and tear it off at the moment of at tempting the lorry boardig.

C

hook

Probably removed from a strap used to fix heavy loads on lorries.

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

TECHNICAL PACKAGE

CASE NUMBER

003-7109-01 FILE NAME

CALAIS STOWAWAY

MEASUREMENTS

200

200

1100

200

500

260

600

250 SCALE 1:10 MEASURES EXPRESSED IN MM

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

TECHNICAL PACKAGE

CASE NUMBER

003-7109-01 FILE NAME

CALAIS STOWAWAY

ASSEMBLY DETAILS

EACH STEP IS ATTACHED TO THE BODY OF THE LADDER (MAIN HANDLE) WITH STITCHES

EACH STEP IS INTERNALLY REINFORCED WITH A PIECE OF CLEAR PLASTIC SHEETING

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

STORYBOARD OF USE

CASE NUMBER

003-7109-01 FILE NAME

CALAIS STOWAWAY

CAR FERRY

CLANDESTINITY WATCH EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY

TECHNICAL PACKAGE 003 - 7109 - 02

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM

CASE NUMBER

003-7109-02

EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

FILE NAME

CALAIS STOWAWAY

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

B

A

MIGRANT BAG FABRIC

OVERALL APPEARENCE OF THE ITEM

OVER SHOULDER STRAP

FOLDING FARADAY CAGE

C

D

(FARADAY) HANDLES

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

ITEM NAME

003-7109-02 FILE NAME

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

MARKER NUMBER

CASE NUMBER

CALAIS STOWAWAY

ITEM APPEARENCE

A

migrant bag

see previous item. Fabric from other bags of the same kind has been used to assemble a different item, with a pecu liar circular shape.

B

over shoulder strap

Handle grips from the same chequered bag have been used to assemble a strap that allows to wear the bag on the back.

C

folding faraday cage

a series of thermal blankets has been joined together and mounted on a light frame to create what appears to be a folding cylinder. The properties of the material used suggest the item was de signed to shield detection from infra red scanners used by border control se curity.

D

(faraday) handles

Handle grips from the same chequered bag have been attached to the faraday cage to facilitate the lifting of the shield ing device.

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

TECHNICAL PACKAGE

CASE NUMBER

003-7109-02 FILE NAME

CALAIS STOWAWAY

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

TECHNICAL PACKAGE

CASE NUMBER

003-7109-02 FILE NAME

CALAIS STOWAWAY

1700

MEASUREMENTS

600

SCALE 1:10 MEASURES EXPRESSED IN MM

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

TECHNICAL PACKAGE STORYBOARD OF USE

CAR FERRY

THERMAL SCANNING CONTROLS

HERE

CASE NUMBER

003-7109-02 FILE NAME

CALAIS STOWAWAY

CLANDESTINITY WATCH EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY

FIELD RESEARCH

CALAIS, FRANCE

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

the “Jungle”

003-7109-02 FILE NAME

CALAIS STOWAWAY

FIELD RESEARCH

ITEM NAME

CASE NUMBER

DESCRIPTION

Makeshift camps scattered across thee town of Calais, known as "jungles". Exposed to the cold and weather, with no sanitation and running water, these are the areas occupied by illegal migrants waiting for a good occasion to jump on a truck driving to the UK. Dismantled by local authorities and rebuilt, it currently hosts about 1000 people.

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

Calais

003-7109-02 FILE NAME

CALAIS STOWAWAY

FIELD RESEARCH

ITEM NAME

CASE NUMBER

DESCRIPTION

French town of no more that 120.000 inhabitants, due to its position it is and has always been a major centre for transport and trading with England.

Calais overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the English Channel, which is only 34 km (21 mi) wide here, and is the closest French town to England.

Calais is currently home to around 1,000 illegal migrants, mostly looking to enter the UK by boarding lorries headed for the UK through the town’s port.

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

migrant bag

003-7109-02 FILE NAME

CALAIS STOWAWAY

FIELD RESEARCH

ITEM NAME

CASE NUMBER

DESCRIPTION

Large, very sturdy, rectangular, with a zipper and two handle grips; it’s made of woven PP and connoted by a highly recognizable chickened pattern (tartan, usually red and blue).

A mass-produced item that can be found all over the world at minimum cost, it has become the symbol of migration. It is referred to with many different names, such as “Ghana must go" bag in Nigeria; ”Turkish suitcase” in Germany; “Chinatown tote" in the US; "Guyanese Samsonite" in Guyana.

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

lorries border controls

003-7109-02 FILE NAME

CALAIS STOWAWAY

FIELD RESEARCH

ITEM NAME

CASE NUMBER

DESCRIPTION

Lorries leaving Calais to cross the channel undergo a series of controls aimed at securing the absence of people together with the goods.

Despite all the measures currently in place, many still succeed to reach the UK. The detection systems can: - Use infrared scanners to detect the thermal image of the inside of a truck - use sniffer dogs to detect human presence - CO2 detectors to reveal human breath within a confined space Migrants that are caught can’t be arrested nor deported according to French laws. They are instead released, ready to make one more attempt.

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

migrants stowaway techniques

003-7109-02 FILE NAME

CALAIS STOWAWAY

FIELD RESEARCH

ITEM NAMED

CASE NUMBER

ESCRIPTION

Migrants have developed different techniques aimed at successfully hiding on / under / inside lorries.

The most practiced attempts include: - running behind a vehicle, opening its back door and climbing inside the trailer - crawling under a truck and seat on the underside of the trailer (rear axle) - climbing on the top of the vehicle and, if covered by a tarpaulin, cutting it to sneak inside - covering the head with a plastic bag to prevent breath detectors from revealing human presence - covering the whole body with a thick blanket / space blanket (mylar) / plastic sheet to reduce / cancel ones’ thermal image

SUSPICIOUS UNATTENDED ITEM EU CLANDESTINITY WATCH UE DIVISION - CALAIS OFFICE

space blanket

003-7109-02 FILE NAME

CALAIS STOWAWAY

FIELD RESEARCH

ITEM NAME

CASE NUMBER

DESCRIPTION

Also known as emergency blanket, thermal blanket or weather blanket) is an especially low-weight, low-bulk blanket made of Mylar, a heat-reflective thin plastic sheeting. Their design reduces the heat loss in a person's body. Usually included in first aid kits and camping equipment, it is an item commonly distributed by Navy patrols to migrants rescued from sinking boats in the Mediterranean or by ONGs to illegal aliens living in the streets / sleeping rough.

As Lieutenant Scott Murphy of the 172nd Infantry told the BBC in 2011, Taliban insurgents conducting attacks on Fortress Margha, a U.S. base near the Afghan-Pakistan border, routinely eluded Apache helicopters by hiding their heat signatures underneath these space blankets.

Anonymous sources and even YouTube tutorial videos can be found on the internet explaining how to use a thermal blanket as a shield from infra red scanning used by drones and other security monitoring systems.