‘Banker’ for people-smuggling gang arrested in London dawn raid as Home Secretary observes operation

Acting chief immigration officer Sam Johnson makes a forced entry into the property of a suspected people smuggler in an early morning raid in north-west London

Credit: Heathcliff O'Malley

A Syrian crime gang that has helped smuggle more than 600 migrants across the Channel has been exposed, as immigration investigators say they are close to taking out its top ranks.

Immigration enforcement officers mounted a dawn raid on the north-west London home of a man, said to be one of the gang’s most senior bankers.

He has allegedly been responsible for laundering hundreds of thousands of pounds from migrants to help finance the crossings from a small ground-floor flat that he shares with his wife and children.

The 36-year-old British national of Syrian origin is alleged to be “close to the top” of the crime group, one of the biggest smuggling gangs in the UK which specialises in trafficking Syrians.

Police officers who broke through two doors to arrest him in his Neasden flat seized £1,200 in cash from the address.

He is the 14th suspected member of the gang to be arrested after previous raids in the summer including one in a neighbouring flat which led to 11 alleged members of the gang being arrested, £150,000 found and two vehicles seized.

Immigration enforcement officers also executed warrants at two north-west London addresses – in Wembley and Willesden – where further evidence was seized including mobile phones and paperwork.

Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, who observed the raid, said it was the result of a joint UK-French intelligence cell that was boosting information-sharing on the trafficking gangs.

Home Secretary Priti Patel observed the raid

Credit: Heathcliff O'Malley

It followed the weekend agreement with the French under which France will double the number of gendarmes patrolling its beaches and increase surveillance from drones and cameras to prevent migrants leaving French shores in the first place.

“It is about deterring people and preserving lives. This year over the summer we have seen our French counterparts stop 5,000 people leaving France,” Ms Patel told The Telegraph.

Asked if the UK was still seeking to persuade the French to return boats at sea and accept back migrants to deter the trade, she said: “We have looked at sea tactics. That is not just the Home Office. That’s working with operational partners.

“We have our Clandestine Channel Threat Commander [Dan O’Mahoney] with powers to work with a range of operational partners to look at how we can intercept at sea. We need French cooperation as well to be able to return them back to where they embarked from. That work will continue.

“But that’s not the full answer. I have spoken publicly before about the need for an end to end approach and the need for changes to the system about how we deal with illegal migration.

“We are looking to reform our asylum system. This has to be end to end reform of the system to stop people coming to the UK by illegal routes.”