Four arrested in connection with people smuggling from Belgium to UK on small boats

Four people have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling people to the UK on boats via Belgium.

Two Albanian nationals, aged 44 and 48, in Nottingham and a 46-year-old Irish man in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, were arrested by National Crime Agency officers on Tuesday morning (28 February).

A 51-year-old man from Albania was also arrested in Hove on suspicion of assisting unlawful immigration.

Investigators allege they have been involved in acquiring a rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) and using it to travel to Belgium to collect migrants, landing at Margate in Kent.

The men are all alleged to be part of a gang organising a series of people smuggling runs to the UK from Europe, including a number of crossing events last year.

The operation is linked to two arrests in Belgium on Sunday 30 October 2022, where a man from Basingstoke and a man from Leicester were arrested on suspicion of people smuggling offences as they arrived on the coast near Nieuwpoort at 4.30am.

Twelve migrants, including a child, all believed to be Albanian nationals, were also taken into custody by the Belgian authorities.

NCA Branch Commander Colin Williams said: “These arrests follow an extensive investigation into individuals who we believe were involved in a number of migrant crossings from Belgium to the Kent coast in 2022.

"Tackling people smuggling continues to be a priority for the NCA as we target and disrupt organised crime groups at every step of the route."