Arrests over smuggling attempt

TWO men have been arrested in Sherwood as part of an investigation into a foiled attempt to smuggle migrants to the UK using a speedboat.

The arrests, made by the National Crime Agency (NCA), follow an operation on October 30 where Belgian police prevented a high-powered rigidhulled inflatable boat leaving the coast near the town of Nieuwpoort in Flanders.

They detained 12 migrants, believed to be Albanian nationals, alongside two men from Basingstoke, Hampshire, who were arrested by the Belgian authorities for alleged people smuggling offences. NCA officers also detained a third suspected member of the crime group in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. He was later released under investigation.

At around 10pm on Tuesday, NCA officers raided an address off Mansfield Road in Sherwood, arresting two Albanian men, aged 48 and 44, on suspicion of assisting unlawful immigration. They were taken into custody for questioning.

NCA branch commander Colin Williams said: “Our investigation is focused on individuals suspected of involvement in the October attempt to circumvent UK border controls using a high-powered boat. “