Immigration officers in Britain have arrested 31 people smuggling suspects at several locations across the UK, including Belfast, Liverpool, Luton and Scotland.

The three-day operation resulted in 400,000 pounds (about 478,000 euros) being seized, and ten false identity documents being discovered. Officers carried out checks at ports, airports and on road networks.

The Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Angela Eagle, said her government would "not stand by as criminal gangs exploit vulnerable people, risking their lives and giving them false hopes of a better life in the UK."

Also read: Eight die in attempted Channel crossing

Gangs 'driven by greed'

In a press release from the Home Office, Eagle was quoted as saying that the gangs were "driven by greed" and had "no regard for human life or safety." She added that they were "preying on those desperate to escape hardship, and forcing them into illegal and dangerous situations."

Immigration Enforcement Inspector Jonathan Evans pronounced the operation a "huge success" and said it sent "a clear message that the smuggling gangs who break our laws will face serious consequences."

Evans added that teams from the National Crime Agency (NCA), regional police forces and "international counterparts" had worked together on the operation.

Also read: UK increased funding to crack down on people smuggling

Guilty of transporting migrants in vans

The NCA also reports that a figurehead of an organized crime group has been jailed for 20 years for attempting to smuggle migrants into the UK.

The crime boss, Muhammad Zada, and five of his associates were found guilty in July of transporting migrants in vans and a refrigerated lorry, the agency said in a press release dated September 20. He was sentenced on Friday.

The men were found guilty of "recruiting drivers and facilitating the movement of people into the country from mainland Europe."

Muhammad Zada is accused of having coordinated "at least five conspiracies to smuggle 35 Iraqi-Kurdish and Vietnamese migrants into the UK from France, Belgium and the Netherlands."

According to investigators, each person was charged between 5,000 and 10,000 pounds (between about 5,900 euros and 11,900 euros) to be hidden in vehicles and driven to the UK.

The first arrests in this case were made in March 2017, after a man was found driving a van from the UK to Belgium to collect and transport people.

The man was stopped by French police at Calais on his second trip and eight migrants were discovered hidden among furniture in the van. The man, Milan Sochanic, was convicted of people smuggling offenses in France.

Also read:Van driver sentenced to ten years for transporting migrants to the UK

Various attempts foiled

Prosecutors said that Muhammad Zada had purchased the van and arranged for the words 'Milan Builders' to be painted on the side, before plotting with Milan’s son Marek to smuggle people.

According to the NCA, on another occasion the group planned to smuggle migrants from France and the Netherlands to the UK in a refrigerated lorry trailer along with fruit and vegetables.

When the lorry was traveling from Rotterdam, Dutch police discovered 12 Vietnamese migrants, including children as young as four years old.

Prosecutors say that Muhammad Zada and his gang also arranged for migrants to be hidden in camper vans, among bicycle boxes and between a shipment of mattresses. These attempted journeys were discovered by Belgian law enforcement officers.

The group is also accused of having duped some of the drivers into carrying migrants, when they thought they were driving legitimate cargos across the border. They say the migrants were loaded into the vehicles sometimes without the drivers' knowledge.

Zada had earlier been sentenced on a separate conviction for having led a gang smuggling more than two million cigarettes into the UK in 2018.

Also read: French minister says need for UK-EU treaty to stop Channel deaths

Suspects absconded

Muhammad Zada was found guilty of five counts of conspiring to facilitate breaches of immigration law. Two of the gang were jailed for six years, and two others will be sentenced at a later date.

According to the NCA, Zada himself, as well as Marek Sochanic, were sentenced in their absence and are currently at large. Both men are said to have absconded before the start of their trial in July. "Work to locate the pair and bring them into custody is ongoing," the NCA said.

Martin Clarke, the NCA Branch Commander, said that the agency has more than 70 ongoing investigations into "networks or individuals operating at the top tier of this crime type."

Also read:Crossing from the UK to France, an unusual but growing trend

Channel crossings

More people continued to cross the Channel to the UK over the weekend. On Saturday, September 21, 707 people arrived by boat, according to the Home Office – the second highest daily total this year.

More than 10,000 have crossed since Labour took power in early July. Like his predecessor, Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he is "absolutely determined" to tackle the smuggling gangs who facilitate the crossings.

Last week, Starmer visited Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to find out how the number of people reaching Italy had dropped 60 percent this year when compared with the same period in 2023.

Critics point out that the reduction followed a rise of more than 100% in the number of arrivals after Italy’s government took power and that the figure has now simply come back to "normal" levels.

Also read:Channel crossings, why Britain cannot simply send back migrants