23 Bangladeshis rescued from lorry smuggling attempt from UK to France
The Chronify
UK authorities rescued 23 Bangladeshi nationals hidden inside a lorry near the Port of Dover during a targeted operation. The incident exposed a large people-smuggling network operating from east London’s Tower Hamlets.
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has rescued 23 Bangladeshi nationals who were being smuggled from London to France inside a lorry, uncovering an organised human trafficking network based in east London’s Tower Hamlets.
According to a report by the BBC on Wednesday, the rescue took place during a special NCA operation near the Port of Dover, where officers searched a lorry and found the migrants concealed inside.
NCA officials said that 22 of the rescued Bangladeshis were legally residing in the UK but had attempted the dangerous journey to bypass France’s strict entry requirements.
The operation led to the arrest of a 43-year-old man from New Cross, believed to be the ringleader of the trafficking network. Officers also seized £30,000 in cash during the raid.
Investigators said the group had been involved in people smuggling between the UK and France for several years, posing what authorities described as a serious national security threat.
The investigation revealed deep links between the network and sections of the British-Bangladeshi business community in Tower Hamlets. Several suspects had reportedly declared bankruptcy on paper while secretly operating multiple businesses in the names of their spouses and close relatives.
Authorities said proceeds from human trafficking were laundered through these businesses over the past 15 years, allowing those involved to accumulate significant wealth. Once small traders, the suspects are now described by investigators as “disguised millionaires.”
Private taxi drivers were also found to play a key role in the operation. Three drivers, aged between 43 and 55, allegedly transported migrants from different parts of London to a covert location in Whitstable, Kent. From there, the migrants were transferred to lorries heading to Dover — a method that helped the network evade detection for years.
The NCA is currently investigating around 100 serious immigration-related offences linked to the group, which officials say is one of the most extensive and complex people-smuggling operations the agency has encountered.
According to a report by the BBC on Wednesday, the rescue took place during a special NCA operation near the Port of Dover, where officers searched a lorry and found the migrants concealed inside.
NCA officials said that 22 of the rescued Bangladeshis were legally residing in the UK but had attempted the dangerous journey to bypass France’s strict entry requirements.
The operation led to the arrest of a 43-year-old man from New Cross, believed to be the ringleader of the trafficking network. Officers also seized £30,000 in cash during the raid.
Investigators said the group had been involved in people smuggling between the UK and France for several years, posing what authorities described as a serious national security threat.
The investigation revealed deep links between the network and sections of the British-Bangladeshi business community in Tower Hamlets. Several suspects had reportedly declared bankruptcy on paper while secretly operating multiple businesses in the names of their spouses and close relatives.
Authorities said proceeds from human trafficking were laundered through these businesses over the past 15 years, allowing those involved to accumulate significant wealth. Once small traders, the suspects are now described by investigators as “disguised millionaires.”
Private taxi drivers were also found to play a key role in the operation. Three drivers, aged between 43 and 55, allegedly transported migrants from different parts of London to a covert location in Whitstable, Kent. From there, the migrants were transferred to lorries heading to Dover — a method that helped the network evade detection for years.
The NCA is currently investigating around 100 serious immigration-related offences linked to the group, which officials say is one of the most extensive and complex people-smuggling operations the agency has encountered.
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