11 arrests in UK as part of Europe-wide raids targeting human trafficking ring

• Video report by ITV News Correspondent Geraint Vincent

Twenty-seven people have been arrested in pre-dawn raids carried out across Europe as part of investigations into human trafficking.

Eleven people from London, Birmingham and Gateshead were among those arrested on suspicion of assisting illegal immigration, as officers forced their way into properties in the early hours of Thursday morning.

They were suspected of being part of an organised crime network smuggling people, largely from Afghanistan, into European countries and the UK.

The UK raids were led by the Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigation (CFI) unit, in conjunction with the National Crime Agency (NCA), Europol and Eurojust.

In total, seven people in London, two in Birmingham and two in Gateshead were taken into custody, having been arrested on suspicion of assisting illegal immigration.

One person from London was arrested for suspected immigration offences.

A further seven people were arrested in Bulgaria and eight in Belgium on suspicion of assisting illegal immigration.

“Criminal gangs often facilitate the arrival of illegal migrants into the UK by exploiting their desperation without thought for safety and with the sole motive of profit," Chris Hogben, from the NCA, added.

“We see this through migrants being sent across the channel in unseaworthy small boats or stuffed into the back of cramped lorries, vans and cars.

“This operation is a good example of how we can bring together law enforcement from across Europe to work together to take on that threat and disrupt the organised networks involved in people smuggling.”