A man from Rawmarsh has been arrested as part of a major investigation into an alleged people smuggling network operating between France and the UK.
Officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) arrested the 22-year-old at an address in Rawmarsh, Rotherham, during an early morning operation on 17 February.
The arrest forms part of an ongoing investigation into an organised crime group suspected of transporting Vietnamese migrants to the UK using lorries and small boats.
Four other men were re-arrested by NCA officers. The men, aged 27, 31 and 33, were produced from a prison in Liverpool, while a 31-year-old man was produced from a prison in Birmingham.
All four are currently on remand after being charged in September and October last year with money laundering and identity document offences.
The five men are alleged to be key figures in a criminal network that has been smuggling people from France into the UK since summer 2024. Investigators believe the group retained the genuine Vietnamese passports of migrants they transported, using them to enforce debt bondage arrangements.
NCA branch commander Jon Hughes said tackling people smuggling remains a top priority for the agency.
โThis is one of approximately 100 ongoing investigations targeting groups or individuals both directly involved in organising journeys, or those who facilitate that criminality,โ he said.
โPeople smugglers have no regard about the welfare of those they transport. They purely see human beings as commodities to make money from.
โOur investigation continues with the evidence we have gathered today.โ
All five men remain in custody and are being questioned by NCA investigators.
