Senior member of people smuggling gang arrested in Dagenham

Officers carried out raids in east and south London this morning (Credit: National Crime Agency)

The National Crime Agency has arrested four men in east and south London as part of an investigation into people smuggling. 

Officers carried out a series of co-ordinated raids against a crime group, which is suspected of using lorries to bring migrants into the UK, this morning. 

A 39-year-old man, believed to be a senior member of the group, was arrested in Dagenham on suspicion of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration. 

Three men were also detained at addresses in Ilford, Leytonstone and Streatham on suspicion of facilitation offences. 

The arrests are linked to two separate events in 2019, where a total of 32 migrants were found in the back of HGVs in the Netherlands and France. 

Investigators believe the crime group arranged for lorries to be broken into so that they could be loaded with migrants without the drivers knowing. 

The group placed tracking devices on the vehicles so that they could follow them as they made their way to the UK. 

NCA branch commander, Andy Noyes, said: “This operation has targeted those who we suspect are key members of a people smuggling crime group.

“Organised immigration crime is a chronic and dangerous threat and the smugglers pay no regard to the lives of the people they attempt to transport, whether that be by boat or in vehicles.

“While putting people in lorries might make the issue less visible to the public, it is no less dangerous to those being smuggled, and unfortunately we have seen the tragic consequences this can have.

“Working with partners in the UK and overseas we are determined to do all we can to disrupt and dismantle the organised crime groups involved, and break down their business model.”

It is the second major operation in a week that the NCA has mounted targeting suspected people smugglers. 

Officers worked with colleagues from around Europe to conduct a series of raids against a network suspected of bringing thousands of people to the UK in small boats.

Around 40 people were arrested during the operation, which is believed to be the biggest of its kind. 

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