24-05-2025
Garda-NCA crackdown on ‘Northern Ireland people-smuggler' crime gang leads to 33 arrests
Twenty-five of the arrests were made in Northern Ireland, four across Manchester and Birmingham and four in the Republic of Ireland
Four people have been arrested in the Republic as part of a joint Garda-National Crime Agency crackdown on a "Northern Ireland people-smuggler' crime gang.
A total of 33 'illegal entrants and suspected people smugglers' were arrested as part of the Home Office operation tackling abuse of the Common Travel Area.
In the sixth such operation of its kind, Home Office Immigration Enforcement teams swooped on ports and airports in Northern Ireland, north-west England and Wales during a three-day operation.
Twenty-five of the arrests were made in Northern Ireland, four across Manchester and Birmingham and four in the Republic of Ireland.
The operation is part of a renewed crackdown on immigration crime as the UK government restores order to borders through their 'Plan for Change'.
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News in 90 Seconds - May 24th 2025
It involved the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), An Garda Síochána, the National Crime Agency (NCA), other UK police forces, Border Force and international partners who worked to 'gather intelligence, trace offenders and take action against UK border breaches'.
Some £17,000 in suspected criminal assets and a heavy goods vehicle worth £144,000 have also been seized while officers issued civil penalties to the value of more than £10,000.
Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle said the government was using every tool at its disposal 'to take down the criminal gangs who exploit vulnerable people in order to make quick cash'
'We are breaking down the criminal networks at their root with enforcement visits and arrests up by 38 per cent,' the minister said.
'The government's Plan for Change will ensure that criminal networks who abuse our borders face the full force of the law, which is exactly why we have introduced the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill giving law enforcement new counter-terror style powers to smash the people-smuggling gangs.'
Home Office Immigration Enforcement Deputy Director Ben Thomas said law enforcement agencies are dedicated 'to breaking down the business model of criminal gangs who put lives at risk every day, the strength of our partnership and success of this operation serves as evidence'.
'Criminal networks seek to bypass robust border checks through fraudulent means and trap vulnerable people into further illegal activities,' Mr Thomas said.
'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.'
According to the Home Office, the operation builds on the success of previous enforcement activity in Northern Ireland conducted by the Criminal and Financial Investigations team, part of Home Office Immigration Enforcement.
'Since July 2024 over 60 arrests have been made and over £405,000 of criminal cash seized in the crackdown on abuse of the CTA, protecting migrants at risk of exploitation and disrupting criminality that threatens the public's safety,' the Home Office stated.
'This latest success comes alongside the announcement that nearly 30,000 people with no right to be here have been returned under this government, including a 23% increase in enforced returns and a 14% increase in foreign criminals deported since the election.'
It also follows a series of measures introduced by the UK government to tackle organised immigration crime under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
This is to enable 'smarter, faster and more effective interventions to protect UK border security' and make it easier to detect, disrupt and deter those seeking to engage in and benefit from organised immigration crime.
