Tag: people smuggling gangs

31 arrested in crackdown on people- smuggling gangs

A Home Office crackdown against people-smuggling gangs and people exploiting the Common Travel Area (CTA) has led to the arrest of 31 people in multiple locations across the UK.  

As the UK government steps up its pursuit against the criminal groups abusing our borders on all fronts, Immigration Enforcement teams, alongside UK police forces and international partners, descended on locations in the UK including Belfast, Scotland, Liverpool and Luton as part of a three-day operation.   

Checks were conducted at major ports, airports, and road networks across the country, targeting illegal migration and disrupting smuggling routes. Ruthless criminal gangs, operating both in the UK and internationally, often exploit vulnerable migrants, charging them thousands of pounds to enter the UK illegally, luring them with false promises of a better life.  

During the operation, £400,000 of criminal cash and 10 fraudulent identity documents were seized. These documents, which are critical tools used by people-smuggling gangs, enable them to evade immigration controls.

Created by criminal networks, counterfeit documents allow migrants to bypass border checks, trapping vulnerable people in further illegal activities. By exploiting these people, the gangs not only profit but also place them at risk of severe legal and personal consequences.  

The multi-agency operation was led by Immigration Enforcement’s Criminal and Financial Investigations team in Northern Ireland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), the National Crime Agency (NCA), other UK police forces, and international partners.  

This operation is part of a national effort to stop irregular migration and human trafficking at key entry points across the UK, as the government works to tackle people-smuggling gangs and bring those exploiting vulnerable people to justice.

  

Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: “This government will not stand by as criminal gangs exploit vulnerable people, risking their lives and giving them false hopes of a better life in the UK.

“Driven by greed, these gangs have no regard for human life or safety, charging outrageous fees, preying on those desperate to escape hardship, and forcing them into illegal and dangerous situations.  

“We are taking the fight to them on all fronts under the leadership of our new Border Security Commander. Dismantling the business models of these gangs does not just apply to the small boats trade – we are also stamping out other routes into the UK to bring them to justice and slash their profits.” 

Home Office Immigration Enforcement Inspector, Jonathan Evans, said: “This operation has been a huge success and sends a clear message that the smuggling gangs who break our laws will face serious consequences.  

“We are taking action day in, day out to ensure we stay a step ahead of these criminal groups, disrupting them at the earliest possible stage. We will continue working relentlessly to ensure no one abuses the Common Travel Area or the UK’s borders. 

“I’m incredibly proud of our teams across the country, as well as our partners from the police, the National Crime Agency, and international counterparts, for their hard work and collaboration in carrying out this important operation.”

Home Secretary sets out ‘moral imperative’ to stop smuggling gangs

The Home Secretary convenes ministers and law enforcement partners to destroy the gangs that undermine border security and risk lives on small boats

The Home Secretary will convene a landmark operational summit of cabinet ministers and law enforcement partners today (Friday 6 September), as she sets out the moral imperative to destroy the criminal smuggling gangs making millions out of small boat crossings.    

Her comments come after the horrific tragedy in the Channel this week that saw the deaths of at least 12 people, with others reported to be still in a critical condition.    

The Home Secretary will be joined at the NCA headquarters in London by ministers including the Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Attorney General Lord Hermer, as well as representatives from the National Crime Agency (NCA), Border Force and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).   

The UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) is deploying formidable covert capability to support the NCA to penetrate and dismantle the gangs at every level of operation – from facilitators to financiers.   

UKIC will also attend this landmark meeting, which will set out the progress being made on intensifying the enforcement activity aimed at disrupting, intercepting and destroying the criminal network moving people, boats and engines into Europe and across the continent to the French coastline.    

Ministers and law enforcement partners will examine the findings from the analysis commissioned by the Home Secretary on the operational capabilities of the criminal smuggling gangs. Discussion will also be focused on collaboration with European enforcement agencies, including Europol, and plans will be put forward to rapidly enhance this through the government’s new Border Security Command in the coming months.  

NCA Director General Graeme Biggar will highlight how close co-operation with the Bulgarian authorities and an established NCA presence in that critical transit country has led to more than 40 small boats and engines being intercepted in recent weeks. This material, now removed from the smuggling supply chain, could have enabled up to 2,400 people to attempt the deadly crossing.    

He will also set details of around 70 further live investigations, including:    

  • working with the Libyan police to target gangs trafficking migrants through Libya, with raids on warehouses where migrants are housed, often in appalling conditions, before making their onward journey to Europe
  • collaboration with French authorities to investigate the death of a woman killed in an overloaded boat on 28 July

This meeting led by the Home Secretary comes as she spoke to her French counterpart, Gérald Darmanin, this week to discuss increased co-operation to dismantle the gangs.  

Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “Exploiting vulnerable people is at the heart of the business model of these despicable criminal smuggling gangs. Women and children were packed into an unsafe boat which literally collapsed in the water this week.

“At least 12 people were killed as part of this evil trade. We will not rest until these networks have been dismantled and brought to justice. 

“The last two months has seen encouraging progress, with significant seizures of boats and equipment in Europe. But there is work to do, and the Border Security Command will bring all the relevant bodies together to investigate, arrest and prosecute these networks, as well as deepen our ties with key international partners.   

“At the same time, we are swiftly removing those with no right to be in the UK, which will ensure we have a fair, firm and functioning asylum system where the rules are respected and enforced.”

NCA Director General Graeme Biggar said: “People smuggling puts lives in mortal danger.   

“As well as arresting suspects and seeing our investigations lead to convictions and sentences, we’re operating around the world to disrupt the perpetrators. This includes helping seize more than 410 small boats and engines since last spring, preventing thousands of crossings.    

“Tackling the callous criminals behind organised immigration crime is one of the NCA’s highest priorities. We continue to expand our activity to deliver ever greater impact against the threat.”

In recent weeks, the Prime Minister has led a ‘reset’ in the relationship with Europe, with work to increase security co-operation and tackle illegal migration at the heart. This has already led to a 50 per cent uplift in the number of NCA officers stationed in Europol, working on organised immigration crime.    

Last week, the Home Secretary announced an additional 100 specialist investigators to disrupt people smuggling globally. In addition to the Europol presence, the NCA has enhanced its international liaison officer network, responsible for cracking down on criminal networks in specific areas.    

A new post is open in Austria and officers are being permanently deployed to Romania. Headcount is also increasing in South East Asia, in key countries where gangs are advertising Channel crossings. These are just the first steps of an intensification of the UK’s international law enforcement and bilateral partnership arrangements and serves as a platform for Border Security Command operations.   

The tragedy off the French coast on Tuesday 3 September highlights the increasingly extreme measures the gangs are willing to contemplate, as more people are crammed into less seaworthy vessels. It has been reported that most of those who died were women and children.  

Intelligence reveals smugglers have also increased the price they charge for migrants to cross the Channel, including charging for children to get into boats, as the business model comes under pressure from UK and partner law enforcement.