Four arrested after dawn raids targeting suspected people smugglers
Four people have been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences after dawn raids targeting an alleged people smuggling gang.
Three Albanian men and a woman from Moldova are being questioned as part of a National Crime Agency investigation into a group that advertised illegal crossings from France on social media.
They are also suspected of picking up illegal migrants from HGV stops in Kent and taking them to London.
A 31-year-old man was arrested in Edmonton, north London, a 29-year-old in Enfield and a 30-year-old near Gatwick Airport on Wednesday.
The woman was arrested in Leyton.
Officials from the NCA, and other bodies including the Metropolitan Police and Home Office, also visited premises including five cafes in Walthamstow, Chingford and Dagenham, east London, thought to be used by members of the smuggling gang.
In a separate operation, two people were arrested for immigration offences in Edmonton.
NCA Branch Commander Adam Berry said: 'Tackling organised immigration crime remains a priority for the NCA, and the arrests carried out by my officers today are the result of an investigation into a gang we suspect of advertising and orchestrating HGV crossings from France.
'These types of illegal crossings, whether by boat or in HGVs, risk the lives of those being transported and threaten the UK's border security, which is why targeting the organisers behind them is so important for us.
'Working with law enforcement and Government partners we are determined to do all we can to target, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved in people smuggling.
'These arrests and further operations with partners to visit premises across east London show that in action.'
The NCA said more than 8,000 social media accounts used by people smugglers were taken down in 2024.
It currently has around 80 investigations into illegal migration gangs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
35 minutes ago
- Sky News
Hainault sword rampage survivor recalls moment attacker told him: 'I'm going to kill you'
A survivor of the Hainault samurai sword rampage has told Sky News of the moment that attacker Marcus Arduini Monzo looked him in the eye and said: "I'm going to kill you". Donato Iwule recalled his "escape from death" after Monzo was found guilty on Wednesday of charges including one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder following the attack in east London on 30 April last year. Among the victims was 14-year-old schoolboy Daniel Anjorin, who died of his injuries. Mr Iwule was the first person to be attacked during the 20-minute rampage, which he described as being like a "horror movie". He was on his way to work when Monzo drove his grey Ford Transit van into him at speed. The attacker then leapt out of the vehicle and slashed the young father in the neck, before running off. Mr Iwule told Sky News correspondent Ashna Hurynag he remembered being "on the floor" for a short time after being hit and then looked up to see Monzo. "I saw this guy and I went to him, I said: 'Are you okay?' He didn't talk to me. He was angry and said: 'I need to kill'. I was like 'Huh?' "I said to him: 'Are you okay?' Then the next thing I saw was a samurai sword... I took a step back and said: 'What are you doing? Hello?' And he was like: 'I'm going to kill you, yeah, yeah'." 2:50 Mr Iwule said he then got to his feet and tried to move away as Monzo began swinging his sword around. "He came again and that's when I turned my eye, to see where I am, in case there were two or three [other attackers]... I looked at my back for a split second and I saw out of the corner of my eye, he was trying to swing. So I, kind of, moved back and this way he caught me right in my neck. "When he caught me, straight away I panicked for a couple of seconds." However, Mr Iwule said he recalled the words of his cousin, a doctor, about injuries, and used his thumb and jumpers to put pressure on the wound to stem the bleeding. He said hospital staff later told him he could have died in less than a minute due to the severity of his injuries. "He thought that he won. But he didn't... I was supposed to be dead," he added. Mr Iwule said his life flashed before his eyes during the incident and he was left traumatised for months afterwards. "I wasn't even going out, I was even scared to stay at my own house. I had to stay with my mum and have some sleepless nights because, for the past six to five months, I was reliving the same moment every single day," he said. Mr Iwule added he was "relieved" his attacker had now been convicted. Monzo, 37, will be sentenced on Friday.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Rent-a-bike thieves are nature unto themselves
I often get the Merlin app out on my dog walks in our local park — you'd be amazed at the variety of birds in south London, from the occasional woodpecker to an army of rose-ringed parakeets. But there's a relatively new urban hoot-hooting sound in town: the rhythmic call of the stolen Lime rented bikes make a repetitive cry once an artful dodger — it's usually a child — begins to ride without paying. I saw one being taken for a spin the other morning, two shrieking schoolgirls somehow on one bike, the passenger getting a backie on the wheel arch. Lime bike pilfering is the petty crime no one seems to care about in London. They're just background singers in our soundscape. I fear more for the safety than the unlawful behaviour of these kids, since none of them seem to wear helmets. But then I saw a schoolgirl steal someone else's rented bike. The poor bloke, on his way to work, had paused his ride, dismounted and turned his back for a second to retrieve a ring he'd dropped. He tried, awkwardly and heroically, but failed to catch the bike poacher as she sped off, the getaway vehicle weaving in and out of rush-hour traffic. • England ride Lime bikes to Oval with West Indies stuck in traffic In Australia, helmets are a legal requirement and Lime bikes have them attached in the front baskets, which makes a change from the discarded takeaways left in the UK ones. Could the caring, sharing, eco-conscious, globally successful e-bike hire company not attach helmets to the British bikes? I seem to be having a middle-aged pop girl summer. So far I've seen Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Beyoncé. I'll see rapper Doechii in August. I've been going to gigs fairly consistently since the age of about 14 but I don't remember anyone dressing up as the person they are about to see on stage. This is not a grumpy old woman complaint. It was glorious to see the young 'uns in yuck-green tops and big frilly knickers for Charli and ironic pinks for Chappell. The joyful commitment to cowboy boots and stetsons for Beyoncé's performance in sweltering London was impressive, to the point of being quite moving. I honestly love my job but there's a special satisfaction in putting on my automatic out-of-office response when I go on holiday. I get a lot of cold-call, copy-and-paste emails from PR companies and can't find time to reply to all of them. Since the answer to the vast majority is 'no thank you', it would be unproductive in any case. It does feel hugely impolite to ignore them so I have experimented with efficiently curt, negative responses, only to be met with the dreaded follow-up 'While I have you…'. So the OOO setting satisfies politeness: everyone's at least getting a response — around 530 people during a recent eight-day break. Their non-bespoke request is getting a non-custom-made reply. It's an egalitarian relationship between inboxes where no human time has been wasted. There are still some codes of conduct. You can't switch your holiday setting on mid-conversation. Though I have a sneaking respect for those capable of this OOO smackdown. I got one the other day that just said: 'Hello there, Sorry I missed your message. I'm wild swimming in Wales.' A new height for rubbing your nose in it. Searching the internet for a good price on a new shower, the algorithm threw showers for dogs at me, for the algorithm knows that I am a dog owner with solid hygiene standards. But it turns out that these are not niche products. Even John Lewis sells one, 'for a more relaxed experience' for your dog. It's an 'anatomically shaped' (me neither) showerhead with settings for paws and body made by Hansgrohe. Yours for only £157. How on earth have we lived so long without it? Lesley Thomas is Weekend editor Janice Turner is away
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
My dad was brutally attacked and stabbed 'by a random CYCLIST after telling him he shouldn't be on the pavement'
A devastated son has told of how his father was brutally attacked and stabbed multiple times after informing an 'erratic' cyclist he shouldn't be riding on the pavement. Police have launched an attempted murder investigation following the attack on the 'true gent', 67, at Shannon's Corner in south west London on Monday evening. Charlie O'Grady, 35, described his father as 'the strongest stubbornest man' he had ever met and as someone who was 'unwilling to collect his pension'. A man in his 20s has been arrested after the victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Mr O'Grady is now raising money for his parents via GoFundMe to help them until his father is 'back on his feet'. He said: 'My father was brutally attacked and stabbed multiple times at Shannon's Corner on Monday evening for simply telling an erratic cyclist he shouldn't be on the pavement. My mother witnessed the whole thing.' Mr O'Grady described his parents as unlikely to want to 'accept a penny' of financial help and so said he was resorting to going behind their back in setting up the page. Mr O'Grady described his parents as unlikely to want to 'accept a penny' of financial help and so said he was resorting to going behind their back in setting up the page He added: 'I'm riddled with worry about both of them, until he's walking out the hospital door and getting in my car, I will be. My sisters and brothers have all come together to be there for dad and mum and all dad keeps telling us all is don't stress, but I know deep down everyone else is as much as me. 'Again I'll be vilified for this but this I feel is the only way for them to accept any help as I genuinely believe they won't accept it from anyone! Just to help them until he's back on his feet! And mark my words he will be!' He concluded by saying his father is the 'strongest stubbornest man' he had 'ever met' with 'the biggest heart' and a 'true Gentle Giant'. The Met Police said: 'At 7pm on June 23, officers and the London Ambulance Service responded to reports of an assault near Shannons Corner, New Malden. 'A 67-year-old man was found at the scene with stab wounds. He was taken to hospital for treatment, where his injuries were not deemed life-threatening or life-changing. 'A man in his 20s was arrested yesterday on suspicion of attempted murder. He remains in police custody. Enquiries are ongoing.'
