This morning, officers conducted a series of coordinated raids on a criminal organisation suspected of using lorries to transport migrants into the UK.

A 39-year-old man, thought to be the group’s senior member, was arrested in Dagenham on suspicion of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration.

Three men were also arrested on suspicion of facilitation offences at addresses in Ilford, Leytonstone, and Streatham.

The arrests are related to two separate incidents in 2019 in which 32 migrants were discovered in the back of HGVs in the Netherlands and France.

Investigators believe the crime syndicate arranged for lorries to be broken into so that migrants could be loaded without the drivers knowing.

The group installed tracking devices on the vehicles so that they could track them as they travelled to the UK.

This operation has targeted those we suspect are key members of a people smuggling crime group,” said NCA branch commander Andy Noyes.

Organised immigration crime is a persistent and dangerous threat, and smugglers have no regard for the lives of those they attempt to transport, whether by boat or in vehicles.

“While putting people in lorries may make the issue less visible to the public, it is no less dangerous for those being smuggled, and we have seen the tragic consequences of this.”

We are determined to disrupt and dismantle the involved organised crime groups, as well as break down their business model, in collaboration with partners in the UK and abroad.

It is the NCA’s second major operation in a week targeting suspected people smugglers.

Officers from across Europe collaborated on a series of raids against a network suspected of bringing thousands of people to the UK in small boats.

Approximately 40 people were apprehended during the operation, which is thought to be the largest of its kind.