Afghan migrant accused of kidnapping and smuggling teen into UK

An Afghan national has been arrested in West London following allegations that he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 14-year-old Turkish girl in Belgium before smuggling her into the United Kingdom via a small boat across the English Channel.

The incident reportedly began in June 2025 at an asylum applicant reception centre in Belgium, where residents are permitted to leave during the day. Belgian police observed the suspect leaving the facility with the teenager shortly before she was reported missing. The man is alleged to have taken the girl through France and across the Channel in a dinghy. The pair were later discovered living together in Manchester.

The suspect, whose true age remains uncertain due to conflicting birth dates provided to authorities, was arrested in Feltham on August 19 by the National Crime Agency’s National Extradition Unit. He is currently in custody and has reportedly agreed to return to Belgium to face trial. This case is cited as the first known instance of an abducted child being brought into Britain via the Channel migrant route.