More than 30 arrests in Northern Ireland people-smuggling crackdown

By Anahita Hossein-Pour, PA

More than 30 people have been arrested and £17,000 (€20,200) of suspected criminal assets seized in a people-smuggling crackdown in Northern Ireland.

A heavy goods vehicle related to an unpaid penalty notice over stowaways, worth £144,000 (€171,000), was also seized.

The arrests of 33 illegal migrants and suspected people smugglers were part of a three-day operation to tackle criminals exploiting the common travel area (CTA) at ports and airports in Northern Ireland, north-west England and Wales.

Pictures show stacks of cash and officers seizing the lorry, while footage from Belfast International Airport shows a traveller with a suitcase being taken into the back of a police van.

It is the sixth operation of its kind, working between the Police Service of North Ireland, An Garda Síochána, the National Crime Agency, other UK police forces, Border Force and international partners.

The Home Office said 60 arrests have been made and more than £405,000 of criminal cash seized, over abuse of the CTA, since Labour took power in July last year.

Home Office immigration enforcement deputy director Ben Thomas said: “Criminal networks seek to bypass robust border checks through fraudulent means and trap vulnerable people into further illegal activities.

“The success of this operation marks a significant step up in enforcement activity, leading to the arrest of 33 criminals who attempted to abuse the common travel area and undermine the UK’s border security.”

Border security minister Dame Angela Eagle added: “This Government is using every tool at its disposal to take down the criminal gangs who exploit vulnerable people in order to make quick cash.”