British Police have arrested 39 members of a trafficking gang as Priti Patel vows to 'stop at nothing to end sordid trade.'
Consequently, the Police released data showing how the gang smuggled vulnerable people across the Channel and made £13 million in the process.
The gang members charged migrants wanting to cross the Channel between £2,000 and £3,000 each. Despite using larger boats, and changing tactics to avoid being detected by the coast guards, only around half of each paying migrant made it sucessfully to the UK.
The Home Secretary said: "These arrests send a clear message to the criminal gangs who are preying on vulnerable people across Europe and beyond. We will stop at nothing to end your sordid trade, bring justice, and save lives."
Officers from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Britain staged raids to arrest gang members suspected of smuggling 10,000 people. Gang members were said to be making £65,000 per channel crossing with up to 20 people squeezed in to each boat.
One of the alleged ringleaders was arrestted in London. Hewa Rahimpur, 29, living in Ilford, sourced boats from Turkey and delivered them to the Netherlands. Mr Rahimpur is now wanted by the authorities in Belgium and faces extradition from the UK.
Special forces were deployed in Germany as the suspects were believed to be armed dangerous. Two suspects were detained after a large supply of class A drugs were found in the property they raided.
E&K Solicitors
Rusholme
0161 256 3915