A recent Home Office operation targeting people smuggling and abuse of the Common Travel Area (CTA) has led to 33 arrests across Northern Ireland, North West England, and Wales.
The three-day, multi-agency operation also resulted in the seizure of £17,000 in suspected criminal assets, a heavy goods vehicle linked to an unpaid civil penalty worth £144,000, and the issuing of over £10,000 in civil fines.
This crackdown is part of the government's broader effort to combat immigration crime and tighten border controls under its Plan for Change. The operation—now the sixth of its kind—involved coordinated efforts from UK Immigration Enforcement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), An Garda Síochána, the National Crime Agency (NCA), Border Force, and other international partners.
Home Office officials stated that the operation builds on prior successes in Northern Ireland, where since July 2024, more than 60 arrests have been made and over £405,000 in criminal cash has been seized.
The government also announced that nearly 30,000 individuals with no legal right to remain in the UK have been removed, reflecting a 23% rise in enforced returns and a 14% increase in deportations of foreign offenders since the last election.
This enforcement effort supports new measures under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, designed to enhance the detection and disruption of organised immigration crime and bolster UK border security.
Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle said:
“This government is 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%.
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.
Alongside robust legislation at the heart of this mission, the Border Security Command is coordinating our efforts to reduce irregular migration by working alongside our international partners to restore order to our borders”.
Home Office Immigration Enforcement Deputy Director Ben Thomas said:
“Our team alongside 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.
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.
I would like to thank my team and partners across the country for their around the clock dedication to root out the criminal gangs and bring them to justice, protecting those they exploit and the citizens of the UK”. Photo by ukhomeoffice, Wikimedia commons.