Suspected people smugglers accused of bringing convicted rapist into UK are held

Two suspected ringleaders of an Albanian gang accused of smuggling migrants into the UK have been arrested.

A 34-year-old man from Grays, Essex, and a 34-year-old man from Dagenham, east London, were detained in dawn raids on Monday on suspicion of assisting unlawful immigration.

It is alleged the pair were behind the smuggling of 46 people, including young children, intercepted on a boat in the English Channel last August.

Among them was also a convicted rapist who had previously been deported from the UK and has since been deported again.

Investigators from the National Crime Agency allege the group charged between £2,500 and £7,500 each time to bring migrants to the UK.

The group is also accused of using lorries to smuggle people into the country on three occasions between October and November 2022, travelling from Coquelles, France, and stopping off at service stations in Cobham in Surrey and Thurrock in Essex to drop them off.

A 55-year-old man from Belgium who was allegedly the driver of the lorry was arrested in Folkestone, Kent, on Monday.

Two other men were arrested on suspicion of unlawful entry to the UK in north London.

Chris Farrimond, director of threat leadership at the NCA, said: “We have dismantled a suspected organised crime groups behind a number of dangerous migrant crossings last year.

"People-smugglers do not care about the safety of those they transport, they seek to exploit them for profit.

"Tackling organised immigration crime is a priority for the NCA and we have more than 90 ongoing investigations into networks based here and overseas causing the highest harm.“

Mr Farrimond said the NCA would not hesitate to also pursue HGV drivers who were complicit in helping people smugglers.

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