Suspected people-smuggling gang arrested in nationwide crackdown

5th June 2025

Six people have been arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry of hundreds of migrants in dawn strikes by Immigration Enforcement across the UK.

A suspected organised crime boss and his associates have been arrested for allegedly facilitating hundreds of Botswana nationals into the UK illegally, as part of a surge in law enforcement activity to take down people-smuggling gangs.

In the early hours of Tuesday 3 June, five men and one woman were arrested in strikes across the country in Cheltenham, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Bradford. The lead suspect, a 37-year-old Botswana national, was arrested in Cheltenham on suspicion of assisting and planning the illegal entry of other migrants from Botswana into the UK.

The suspected criminal gang is believed to have facilitated the entry of more than 200 Botswana nationals into the UK illegally over a two-year period, leading them into a life of fraud and exploitation. Once in the country, it is believed they assisted in submitting false asylum claims using fake documents in order to fraudulently legalise the migrants stay in the country. They are also believed to have assisted the migrants with illegal employment in care homes, working with the most vulnerable without adequate training or medical expertise.

Officers acted on intelligence that suggested the lead people smuggler was exploiting the individuals he lured here under false pretences, forcing them to do unpaid work.

Organised criminal gangs often use cruel tactics to control their beneficiaries, with victims often subject to debt bondage at the hands of the gangs who trap them in unsafe situations in order to fill their pockets.

The arrests come as part of the latest initiative under this government's Plan for Change to bear down on the criminal gangs profiting at the expense of vulnerable individuals and restore order to the asylum system. Since the election almost 30,000 people with no right to be here have been returned - a 12% increase compared to the same period 12 months ago. Illegal working visits and arrests are also up by more than 40%

This government's Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill will go further than ever before to protect the UK’s borders and strengthen the wider immigration and asylum system, including protecting it against abuse from criminal gangs. New counter terror-style powers will be introduced to smash the smuggling gangs before they have a chance to act.

Security Minister, Dan Jarvis said:

I want to commend the dedication and professionalism of our criminal investigators and Immigration Enforcement officers for these significant arrests. Their tireless efforts have disrupted criminal networks that profit from exploiting vulnerable individuals and undermining our immigration system.

This operation demonstrates that we will use the full force of the law against those who facilitate illegal entry into the UK for exploitation. Our enforcement teams work day and night to protect our borders and communities from harm, and this successful operation is testament to their commitment.

The government remains resolute in our approach to tackle illegal migration and the criminal enterprises that enable it, and through our Plan for Change will continue to restore order to the asylum system that collapsed in recent years.

Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigations lead, Phillip Parr said:

This is one of our highest priority investigations due to the scale of the threat, the number of people believed to be involved, the immense harm these victims are potentially at risk of, and the amount of financial gain the suspects stand to make.

I’m immensely proud of my team’s coordinated and targeted approach in this operation. We’ve not only disrupted this criminal network but also safeguarded potentially hundreds of individuals from further exploitation and harm. This operation demonstrates the power of partnership working in tackling complex organised crime.

There is no place for those who profit from human misery, and we will continue to use all available powers to pursue and prosecute those involved in these despicable crimes.

This government is tightening UK visa controls and building a more sustainable workforce, reducing reliance on overseas workers, as set out in the immigration white paper in May. The strategy contains new financial measures, penalties or sanctions, including for sponsors of migrant workers or students where there is evidence of abuse. New measures already in effect require care providers in England to prioritise recruiting international care workers who are already in the UK and seeking new employment.

In the year ending March 2025, there were 44,125 detected irregular arrivals, 14% more than in the previous year, and 86% of these arrived on small boats. Small boats have been the predominant recorded entry method for irregular arrivals since 2020, when detections on this method increased rapidly and detections on other methods declined (likely in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic making other methods of entry, such as air or ferry, less viable). Small boat arrivals are also the most visible of the irregular methods of entry, so the most likely to be recorded, and have remained high even as other routes have become more viable again.

Small boat arrival numbers fluctuate from day to day, often due to changes in the weather, with peaks in warmer summer months when crossing conditions are more favourable. Comparisons of arrivals between months or years may also be affected by differences in weather conditions. As a result, we do not advise making comparisons between shorter periods.

Apart from small boats, other irregular arrivals comprised: inadequately documented air arrivals (7%), recorded detections in the UK within 72 hours of arrival (6%), and recorded detections at UK ports (1%).

The number of inadequately documented air arrivals has been between 3,200 and 5,300 each year since 2018, except for 2020 and 2021 when numbers were lower due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. There were 2,585 recorded detections in the UK in year ending March 2025, more than two-thirds (69%) fewer than the recent peak of 8,239 in 2019.