Four Vietnamese nationals have been arrested in England for running Facebook advertisements for a human smuggling operation.
The National Crime Agency says that the group would collect people brought to England on small boats and bring them to an address in Croydon.
On Monday, police arrested a 23-year-old woman and 64 and 34-year-old men for “suspicion of assisting unlawful immigration.” A 25-year-old man was also arrested for “people smuggling and drug offenses,” according to a report from Sky News.
The report explains, “In Paris, 12 people have also been arrested as part of the investigation into the group accused of sharing posts aimed at the Vietnamese community, advertising illegal crossings and charging those willing to make the trip thousands of pounds.”
“The older man arrested in London is thought to have acted as a driver, collecting migrants who arrived on small boats and on at least one occasion bringing them back to the Croydon address, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said,” the report continues. “He will now face extradition proceedings while the others were charged and appeared at Croydon Magistrates Court on Tuesday, they added.”
Home Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement, “We are using every possible lever at our disposal to crack down on people smugglers and break their supply chains.”
“Just last week, we signed a new agreement with Vietnam, strengthening our cooperation on illegal migration,” Cleverly added. “Together with law enforcement agencies such as the NCA, our French partners, and other countries like Vietnam, we are committed to dismantling the criminal gangs who are trying to turn a profit by abusing our borders.”
