Police stop lorry-full of migrants from being smuggled OUT of Britain

Officials were targeting a suspected organised crime group involved in smuggling migrants out of the UK in lorries.

A number of taxis had driven the group down from London to a location near Whitstable, Kent.

Officials observed 23 people being loaded onto a lorry which was subsequently stopped by NCA officers as it approached the ferry port in Dover.

The 23 were all subsequently offloaded from the lorry. One was arrested by Immigration Enforcement for immigration offences, the rest were found to be in the UK legally and were released.

Officers arrested three taxi drivers, all men aged between 43 and 55, on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration, as was the 32-year-old Romanian lorry driver.

Shuhal Ahmed, the 43-year-old suspected ringleader, based in New Cross, south-east London, was arrested and £30,000 in cash was seized at his house.

The three taxi drivers, Robuil Islam, 49, Qasim Jan, 54, and Shamim Ahmed, 47 were all arrested, as was Ivan Garaga, 31, a Ukrainian born lorry driver with a Romanian passport.

NCA Branch Commander Saju Sasikumar said: "This operation has been the culmination of an investigation that has been ongoing for a number of months.

"Organised crime groups involved in people smuggling risk the safety of those they transport, and also threaten the border security of both the UK and France.

"Tackling organised immigration crime remains a top priority for the NCA and this investigation is one of around 100 ongoing investigations into networks or individuals in the top tier of this type of criminality."

The NCA has warned criminal gangs are actively recruiting HGV drivers to smuggle migrants both into and out of the UK.

An NCA spokesman said: "A spike in arrests in Kent has seen a number of drivers detained as they attempted to board trains or ferries to France whilst carrying people illegally in their vehicles.

"People smugglers are known to be targeting drivers, offering them thousands of pounds to transport people across the border in otherwise legitimate loads."

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer is set to strike a new border security pact with China in a fresh bid to tackle Britain's small boat crisis.

The deal, which will be signed following the Prime Minister’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing today, will see the two countries work together to crack down on Channel crossings.

The Government said more than 60 per cent of all small boats used by smuggling gangs last year were found to be branded as Chinese-manufactured engines.

Inflatable dinghies used in small boat crossings, often made using parts sourced in China, are used by gangs to pack larger numbers onto single vessels, with recent Channel crossings found to be carrying over 100 people.

Under the agreement, UK law enforcement agencies will work with Chinese authorities to prevent small boat engines and equipment used in Channel crossings being used by criminal gangs, the Government said.