Police make 33 arrests in cross-border crackdown on 'illegal migrants and people smugglers' in Northern Ireland
More than 30 people have been arrested and £17,000 of suspected criminal assets seized in a people-smuggling crackdown in Northern Ireland.
A lorry related to an unpaid penalty notice over stowaways, worth £144,000, was also confiscated by officers.
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 Siochana, 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.
Routes from the island of Ireland to the UK mainland have long been feared to be susceptible to people smuggling due to minimal border controls in the zone.
Last year, 14 Albanians were found hiding inside a livestock wagon that had travelled into the British mainland from Northern Ireland.
Officials confirmed the arrest was made at Loch Ryan ferry port in Dumfries and Galloway, 80 miles south of Glasgow.
Illegal migrants are also known to have exploited the lack of a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
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.'
Arrivals on the more high-profile illegal migration route across the Channel have topped 12,000 – an increase of 40 per cent on 2024.
A total of 13 boats carrying 825 migrants made the treacherous journey across the Channel on Wednesday - with at least two people dying on one of the crossings.
The Home Office confirmed there were 825 arrivals on Wednesday, bringing the total since the general election to 36,811, and a year-on-year increase of 37 per cent.
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