People smuggling operation 'smashed' as key suspect arrested
The 45 year old was arrested in Portsmouth earlier today
NCA
UK authorities have smashed a major people smuggling operation, arresting a suspected high-level figure in a Kurdish organised crime group.
The suspect was arrested as part of a National Crime Agency (NCA) led investigation.
Authorities said he is believed to be a "significant figure" involved in smuggling people to the UK in boats and in the back of HGVs.
NCA officers were supported by colleagues from Hampshire Police as they moved in to detain the 45-year-old at a property in the Kingston area of Portsmouth this morning.
The 45 year old was arrested in Portsmouth earlier today
NCA
He was detained on suspicion of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration and money laundering. A NCA spokesperson said the man is suspected of controlling a network of people smugglers throughout northern Europe and the Middle East.
Crime Agency investigators believe the network may have been involved in smuggling hundreds of people to the UK, charging them thousands of pounds each time. The man is now in custody and being questioned by NCA investigators.
A second man, also suspected of being a high-ranking member of the crime group, was arrested in Italy last month on the basis of a warrant obtained by the NCA.
Extradition proceedings are now underway to bring that suspect to the UK to face charges.
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The man was detained in Portsmouth on suspicion of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration and money laundering
NCA
NCA senior investigating officer Rachel Bramley said: "This arrest marks a significant point in an investigation that has been going on for around two years now.
"It is our belief that this crime group were involved in people smuggling activities using a range of methods, all of which were dangerous and potentially life-threatening for those being smuggled.
"Tackling organised immigration crime remains a priority for the NCA, and our investigation into this network continues."
Although UK authorities recorded a 36 per cent drop in the number of small boat migrants arriving in the UK in 2023, figures are on the rise again this year.
Since the beginning of the year, 3,406 Channel migrants have crossed in small boats, compared to 3,201 at the same point last year.
GB News also recently witnessed a surge in the number of migrants trying to hide away on HGVs around Calais.
French police officers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that they were "struggling to cope" with the volume of attempts to sneak across the Channel by both small boat and HGV.