A MAN suspected of being involved in an organised crime group which smuggled people to the UK in small boats has been arrested.
National Crime Agency (NCA) officers detained the 22-year-old Iranian national at an address in Acocks Green on August 7, on suspicion of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration.
The arrest follows a BBC investigation into the activities of a people smuggling group operating in northern France and the West Midlands.
NCA regional head of investigations Jacque Beer said: “This arrest is part of an ongoing investigation into organised immigration crime.
“People smugglers operate for profit without concern for the safety of those they transport, which is why dismantling and disrupting the networks is a priority for the NCA.”
The NCA currently has 91 ongoing investigations into networks or individuals in the top tier of organised immigration crime or human trafficking, those inflicting the highest harm, and who are the most difficult to reach. Some of these sit right at the top of the NCA’s priority list.
The NCA targets and disrupts organised crime groups at every step of the route, in source countries, in transit countries, near the UK border and across Europe as well as those operating in the UK itself.
