Five arrested - including Birmingham man - after Vietnamese migrants smuggled to UK
Five people - including a man from a Birmingham prison - have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling migrants into the UK.
The group were arrested on suspicion of involvement in a people smuggling network that saw Vietnamese migrants smuggled into the country in lorries and small boats.
A 22-year-old man was arrested at an address in Rawmarsh, Rotherham, early this morning (February 17).
Officers also re-arrested four other men who are currently on remand in prison after being charged with money laundering and ID document offences in September and October last year.
They were three men aged 27, 31 and 33, who were produced from a prison in Liverpool, and a 31-year-old man produced from a prison in Birmingham.
All five, who are currently being questioned by NCA investigators, are alleged to be key figures in an organised crime group smuggling people from France to the UK since the summer of 2024 and holding the genuine Vietnamese passports of those they transported to enforce debt bondage.
NCA branch commander Jon Hughes said: “Tackling people smuggling remains a top priority for the NCA, and this is one of approximately 100 ongoing investigations targeting groups or individuals both directly involved in organising journeys, or those who facilitate that criminality.
“People smugglers have no regard about the welfare of those they transport. They purely see human beings as commodities to make money from.
“Our investigation continues with the evidence we have gathered today.”
