Convicted rapist deported from UK was among migrants smuggled in by ‘people-traffickers’

An Albanian rapist previously deported from the UK was found in a small boat of migrants trying to get back into the country, it was revealed today.

Three alleged members of an Albanian organised crime group have been arrested following a National Crime Agency operation.

They are suspected of bringing migrants to the UK in small boats and lorries, charging between £2,500 and £7,500 each time.

The gang are believed to be behind one small boat that left France and were stopped in British waters in the Channel last August.

It had 46 mainly Albanians, including young children and the convicted rapist previously deported. He has since been deported again.

Three alleged members of an Albanian organised crime group have been arrested following a National Crime Agency operation

Officers from the NCA arrest a man, in Grays, Essex, who is accused of being a member of a group arranging small boat crossings and HGV journeys for migrants

The group have been linked to an incident last August where a crossing was intercepted with 46 migrants on board

Passengers were removed from the boat and taken to a holding centre by Border Force officers whilst the NCA, working closely with Border Force’s Small Boats Operational Command, investigated.

This morning NCA officers swooped on a 34-year-old man from Grays, Essex and a 34-year-old man from Dagenham, east London, who they suspect of being the ringleaders.

They were arrested on suspicion of assisting unlawful immigration.

Three further events believed to be linked to the group involving an HGV were identified by NCA officers in October and November 2022.

The lorry is believed to have travelled from Coquelles, France, on three separate occasions, stopping at service stations in Cobham and Thurrock to drop off migrants.

The HGV driver, a 55-year-old man from Belgium, was arrested when his lorry was stopped in Folkestone today.

Two other men were arrested on suspicion of unlawful entry to the UK at an address in North London.

All of those arrested remain in custody to be questioned by NCA officers.

Officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) arrest a man, in Grays, Essex

‘Tackling organised immigration crime is a priority for the NCA’

Chris Farrimond, Director of Threat Leadership at the NCA, said: ‘We have dismantled a suspected organised crime group behind a number of dangerous migrant crossings last year.

‘People smugglers do not care about the safety of those they transport, they seek to exploit them for profit.

‘Tackling organised immigration crime is a priority for the NCA and we have more than 90 ongoing investigations into networks based here and overseas causing the highest harm.

‘As we target callous organised criminal gangs, we will not hesitate to also pursue HGV drivers complicit in helping them.’