Five people have been charged with conspiring to facilitate illegal migration after 23 Bangladeshi nationals were found hidden inside a lorry heading out of the UK. Officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) stopped the lorry as it approached the Dover ferry port, discovering the men concealed inside as part of a sting operation.
The NCA said the majority of the Bangladeshi men—22 out of 23—were in the UK legally and were released after being discovered. One was arrested by immigration enforcement. The investigation targeted a suspected organised crime group involved in smuggling migrants out of the UK, with the NCA warning that such activity threatens the border security of both the UK and France.
A 43-year-old man, suspected to be the ringleader, was arrested in New Cross, London, and £30,000 was seized. Three other men, aged between 43 and 55, allegedly drove taxis from London to a location near Whitstable, Kent, as part of the plan. The lorry driver, a 32-year-old Romanian passport holder, was also arrested.
The group is alleged to have been involved in trying to move predominantly Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals out of the UK in lorries, aiming to avoid border controls and French entry restrictions. NCA branch commander Saju Sasikumar said: 'Organised crime groups involved in people smuggling risk the safety of those they transport, and also threaten the border security of both the UK and France.'
This operation is one of around 100 ongoing NCA investigations into top-tier immigration crime networks. The NCA warned in November last year that gangs were targeting lorry drivers with offers of thousands of pounds to transport migrants across borders in legitimate loads. Between July and October, nine lorry drivers were arrested in Kent for people smuggling offences.
