26 held in police raids on ‘people smuggling’ gang
A TOTAL of 26 people were arrested yesterday in raids in the UK and Europe as part of an international investigation into a suspected people-smuggling ring.
A number of addresses in England, Bulgaria and Belgium – all thought to be part of an organised crime network – were targeted shortly after 5am.
The Home Office reported that 11 people had been taken into custody in London, Birmingham and Gateshead in the North East, on suspicion of assisting illegal immigration.
A further seven were arrested in Bulgaria while eight were taken into custody in Belgium.
All those held are alleged to have been involved in transporting migrants – most of them thought to be from Afghanistan – across Europe and into the UK by hiding them in adapted vans, trucks and lorries.
The UK operation was led by Immigration Enforcement’s criminal and financial investigation department ( CFI), in partnership with the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Border Force.
Seven of the arrests on suspicion of assisting illegal immigration were made in London, with two held in Birmingham and two in Gateshead
In Southall, West London immigration officers were seen breaking down the door of a property before searching the house where a man was led away with a blanket over his head. Steve Dann, director of CFI, said: ‘ People smuggling is a cruel and dangerous trade in which often vulnerable individuals are treated as commodities.
‘Many are passed into the hands of other crime gangs who would seek to exploit them for modern slavery purposes – including labour exploitation and the illicit sex trade.
‘We have been working closely with law enforcement colleagues across Europe and that vital co-operation will continue as the investigation proceeds with the evidence we have seized.’
The NCA’s Chris Hogben, the deputy head of ‘Project Invigor’, the taskforce targeting smuggling networks, added: ‘Criminal gangs often facilitate the arrival of illegal migrants into the UK by exploiting their desperation without thought for safety and with the sole motive of profit. We see this through migrants being sent across the Channel in unseaworthy small boats or stuffed into the back of cramped lorries, vans and cars.
‘This operation is a good example of how we can bring together law enforcement from across Europe to work together to take on that threat and disrupt the organised networks involved in people smuggling.’
The UK and European investigation has been codenamed ‘Project Invigor’ and sees the UK’s Organised Immigration Crime Taskforce targeting criminal networks behind people smuggling.
Other agencies involved in the long running inquiry includes the NCA, Immigration Enforcement, Border Force and the Crown Prosecution Service, who have been working both within the UK and internationally.