Five people including an alleged high-ranking member of a cross-Channel people smuggling crime network have been arrested in dawn raids across London.
National Crime Agency officers descended on properties to detain the men aged 43 to 54 who are suspected of transporting migrants from the UK to France in lorries.
They are thought to be Algerian and Egyptian nationals.
One 52-year-old Algerian is an alleged senior member of the gang, a spokesman said.
The others reportedly loaded cars and vans with people before they were put on HGVs.
All appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday charged with conspiracy to facilitate the illegal entry of a person into an EU country contrary to Section 25A of the Immigration Act.
Madjid Belabes, 52, of Camberwell Grove, Southwark; Samir Zerguine, 51, from Flint Street, Elephant and Castle; Said Bouazza, 54, of Oxestalls Road, Deptford; Mourad Bouchlagehem, 43, from Weymouth Terrace, Shoreditch; and Mohammed Mabrouk, 44, of Hall Place, Paddington were remanded into custody.
Arrests were made after more than 200 North African migrants, including children, were discovered in lorry trailers travelling from Britain to France on separate occasions in 2023.
Twenty people have been detained as part of the investigation to date, including five men later convicted and jailed.
NCA Branch Commander Chris Hill said: “These arrests represent a key moment in our ongoing investigation into a large-scale criminal network responsible for smuggling North African migrants from the UK to France.
“People smugglers don’t care about the safety or wellbeing of human beings they transport, whether it is in boats or HGVs.
“They’re driven solely by profits. The same crime groups smuggling people out of the country are often engaged in bringing people in too, so operations like this allow us to target their UK footprint.
“People leaving the UK in lorries may be doing so because they are wanted by law enforcement, they may be trying to dodge French immigration checks, or they may be being trafficked or exploited.
“The risks to both the people being transported and to border security remains, regardless of the direction they are travelling in.
“This is one of over 70 ongoing NCA operations into gangs or individuals operating at the top tier of organised immigration crime, which remains a priority for the NCA.”
The NCA held an Iraqi national at his home in Bilston, Wolverhampton and he now faces extradition to Poland.
