People smuggling case: Six charged with bringing Iraqi-Kurds into UK
- Published
Arrests were made following a series of raids in 2018
Six men have been charged with being part of an organised criminal network alleged to have smuggled hundreds of Iraqi-Kurdish migrants into the UK.
Aged between 27 and 47 and from the North East of England and London, they were arrested in raids in 2018.
They are due to appear before Newcastle Magistrates' Court on Thursday.
They are accused of being part of a Kurdish network that charged migrants between £5,000 and £10,000 to be transported from Europe.
Mark Spoors, National Crime Agency regional head of investigation, said the charges followed a "long and complex investigation" involving law enforcement agencies in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and UK.
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