Albanian people-smuggling gang 'dismantled' after arrests in Spain

Migrants come to various parts of Spain, including to the port of Arguineguin where many are helped by the Red Cross

An Albanian people-smuggling gang taking migrants to the UK via Spain has been "dismantled" after officers worked for more than a year to identify the ring leaders, a crime agency says.

It is believed that migrants paid between Є3,000 and Є15,000 (£2,600 to £13,000) to be smuggled.

Seven arrests were made between Monday and Wednesday.

National Crime Agency (NCA) officers based in Spain and UK worked with Spain's Guardia Civil on the case.

The crime network smuggled mostly Albanian migrants through the northern Spanish cities of Bilbao and Santander into the UK using ferries and freight shipping routes to Portsmouth, Southampton and Liverpool, said the NCA.

UK and Spanish authorities have identified about 50 people who made the crossing and linked them to the network - but the NCA said the true number who used the route is unknown.

The agency said migrants came directly from Albania to Spain but some were also recruited from camps around Spanish ports.

Smugglers gave them accommodation and food until they were stowed away, sometimes in lorries, for their journey to the UK.

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Of the seven arrests made - two in Madrid and five in the Basque region - the NCA said two men believed to have been leaders of the gang were among those detained.

They all predominantly lived in Albania, but were arrested in Spain and will face prosecution in Spanish courts.

During the raids, investigators seized telephones, computers, bank cards, cash receipts, identity documents and passports of various nationalities.

More than 33,500 people have crossed the English Channel to the UK in small boats this year

NCA international regional manager Steve Reynolds said investigating officers were "faced with a crime group who were prepared to smuggle migrants in lorries over one of the longer ferry and freight crossings into the UK".

"The dangers of that are self-evident."

He said while working with Spanish counterparts the NCA had been able to "dismantle their operation and prevent further lives being put at risk".

This year, more than 33,500 people have crossed the English Channel to the UK in small boats, the highest figure since records began.

Speaking at the Conservative Party conference last week, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said modern slavery rules "are being abused by people gaming the system".

She said the largest group of small boat migrants are from Albania - "a safe country" - and many claim to be modern slaves.

"That's despite them having paid thousands of pounds to come here, or having willingly taken a dangerous journey across the Channel.

"The truth is that many of them are not modern slaves and their claims of being trafficked are lies", she said.