Two suspected people smugglers arrested in Slough, National Crime Agency says

‘Intelligence-led operation’ leads to interception near retail park, NCA says

Home secretary Priti Patel has taken a tough line on people smuggling in recent weeks (House of Commons/PA Wire)

Two men have been arrested in Berkshire on suspicion of smuggling people into Britain.

No charges have yet been filed against the men, both of whom are Afghan nationals with UK residency, aged 21 and 23.

They were arrested near a retail park in Slough on Saturday, in the company of two illegal migrants from Afghanistan.

All four were arrested as part of investigation into modern slavery and organised immigration crime, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

They were taken into custody for questioning and law enforcement officials are searching two houses in Edgware, north London, the NCA said.

“These arrests were made as part of an intelligence-led operation with a rapid response by my officers,” said Andrea Wilson, regional head of investigations at the NCA.

“Working with partners at home and abroad we do all we can to disrupt and dismantle organised crime networks involved in illegal immigration.

“Criminal people-smuggling gangs don’t care about the people they transport, it’s an international business and they only care about getting as rich as possible no matter the human cost.

“This investigation is in its early stages and our work continues.”

It follows two arrests made in Slough in January of people suspected of using lorries to smuggle people into the UK from Belgium.

The NCA could not disclose whether there was any connection between the two sets of arrests.

While stowing away in lorries had typically been the preferred route of entry into the UK, increased surveillance measures and a coronavirus-led border restrictions have effectively ended entry in this fashion.

With the number of stowaways identified by authorities having dropped to zero, at least 4,600 people have attempted to make the treacherous journey across the Channel in small boats so far this year – up from 2,758 crossings in 2019.

On Saturday, the Royal Navy announced it has no current plans to deploy ships to stop migrant boat crossings, after the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said the deployment of warships could cause “fatal incidents”.

The Ministry of Defence will instead deploy additional military aircraft for surveillance and provide personnel to help the Border Force after the home secretary, Priti Patel, lodged a request for support.

In a joint statement, the UNHCR and International Organisation for Migration​ called for the British government to increase search-and-rescue efforts, combat human smuggling, expand legal options for seeking asylum, and make family reunion rules less restrictive.

Additional reporting by PA