“…Coordinated International Effort Targets Migrant Smuggling Network…”
The United Kingdom (UK) law enforcement officers have arrested six Afghan nationals suspected of involvement in a people-trafficking ring, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA). The arrests took place on Wednesday across Leicester, Birmingham, Coventry, and Essex, following a coordinated operation involving Belgian and Italian authorities.
The operation was initiated after Belgian courts issued arrest warrants for the suspects. Belgian prosecutors claim the group has been active since 2022, allegedly orchestrating the transportation of migrants from Afghanistan through several countries including Iran, Turkey, and the Balkans into Western Europe, specifically France and Belgium.
Additionally, this gang is accused of aiding migrants, whose asylum claims were rejected in Belgium, to travel to the UK via small boats.
Three of the detained men appeared in London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, marking the beginning of their extradition proceedings. The other three are scheduled to appear in court later on Thursday.
“These men were allegedly part of a dangerous and harmful criminal network which moved migrants across the world, through Europe and eventually into northern Europe and the UK,” said NCA Deputy Director Craig Turner. He further noted, “The threat posed by organised immigration crime is chronic and enduring, and we currently have 70 live investigations into the gangs involved in it.”
This recent action follows another NCA operation in December, where three men were arrested in the UK for similar crimes. These individuals are now awaiting extradition to Belgium, where 20 members of their criminal network have already been sentenced to a collective 170 years in prison.