Albanian people-smuggling gang ‘dismantled’ after arrests in Spain
An Albanian people-smuggling gang taking migrants to the UK via Spain has been “dismantled” after officers worked for more than a year to identify the ring leaders, a crime agency says.
It is believed that migrants paid between Є3,000 and Є15,000 (£2,600 to £13,000) to be smuggled.
Seven arrests were made between Monday and Wednesday.
National Crime Agency (NCA) officers based in Spain and UK worked with Spain’s Guardia Civil on the case.
The crime network smuggled mostly Albanian migrants through the northern Spanish cities of Bilbao and Santander into the UK using ferries and freight shipping routes to Portsmouth, Southampton and Liverpool, said the NCA.
UK and Spanish authorities have identified about 50 people who made the crossing and linked them to the network – but the NCA said the true number who used the route is unknown.
The agency said migrants came directly from Albania to Spain but some were also recruited from camps around Spanish ports.
Smugglers gave them accommodation and food until they were stowed away, sometimes in lorries, for their journey to the UK.
Agencies