UK to recruit hundreds of officers to smash Kurdish smuggling gangs
The Home Office has announced a £100 million ($133 million) spending package which will also fund the start of the new 'one-in, one out' agreement with France to deport migrants who come by boat in return for allowing those with an approved asylum claim to enter Britain.
The National Crime Agency will see an additional 300 officers who will target smuggling kingpins and aim to disrupt their criminal operations across the Middle East, as well as Africa and Europe, said the Home Office.
These new resources will partly go towards work being done in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region − an area where the NCA has been active − a Home Office source told The National.
It comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government is grappling with the charged issue of migration, as protests continue outside hotels in central London and elsewhere that are housing asylum seekers.
The announcement is part of the pledge by Mr Starmer to 'smash the gangs' of people smugglers to deal with record numbers of migrants arriving by small boats, a figure that has already topped 25,000 this year.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper signed an agreement with the government of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region at the end of last year which has seen NCA officers operating for the first time in an area that has become a centre for the people smuggling industry.
NCA officers were involved in an operation to arrest suspected people smugglers allegedly linked to the same network as Amanj Hassan Zada, a UK-based human trafficker who was sentenced to 17 years in jail in November.
A Home Office source told The National the funding and officers will 'absolutely' go towards the work being done in the region. which is a 'big part of the NCA's work'.
Announcing the new officers and measures, Ms Cooper said: 'For six years, the small boat smuggling gangs were allowed to embed their criminal trade along our coast, and have shown a ruthless ability to adapt their tactics and maximise their profits, no matter how many lives they put at risk.
'They must not be allowed to get away with this vile crime. Now this additional funding will strengthen every aspect of our plan, and will turbocharge the ability of our law enforcement agencies to track the gangs and bring them down, working with our partners overseas, and using state-of-the-art technology and equipment.'
The new money will be spent on hi-tech surveillance capabilities and AI-assisted intelligence and data analysis tools.
It will also go towards funding police powers to seize digital devices and download data to gather evidence and intelligence, which was announced as part of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
Anyone who advertises small boat crossings or fake passports on social media could be face up to five years in prison under a new offence to be introduced under the legislation.
As part of the drive to reduce migration, the UK is also to clamp down on foreign students claiming asylum as their visas come to an end. An announcement is expected in the coming weeks regarding a clampdown on universities accepting foreign students who are using the study visa route as a way into the UK but then claim asylum or fail to take up their place.
In its work tackling smuggling gangs the NCA has also been working to disrupt the supply of small boats coming from Turkey to the shores of northern France.
Working with local law enforcement, its officers seized 25 boats capable of carrying 1,500 people at a border crossing in Bulgaria, which is on the major route used to transport the vessels.
NCA director general of operations Rob Jones Director General of Operations Rob Jones said the organisation is focused 'on making the biggest impact on organised crime groups behind these lethal crossings'.
'We currently have 91 investigations continuing into the most dangerous people smuggling networks impacting the UK, and are working with partners at home and abroad to target, disrupt and dismantle them,' he said.
But the opposition Conservatives described the new funding announcement as a 'desperate grab for headlines which will make no real difference'.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: 'Labour has failed and their laughable claim to smash the gangs lies in tatters. They have no serious plan, just excuses, while ruthless criminal gangs flood our borders with illegal immigrants.'
'The British public deserves real action, not empty slogans and tinkering at the edges. Immediate detention, rapid removal and shutting down these illegal networks for good.'
Meanwhile, the government has moved to reduce the number of 16,000 asylum claims made by foreign students who had come to the UK legally on a study visa.
Universities will be penalised if fewer than 95 per cent of international students accepted on a course start their studies or fewer than 90 per cent continue to the end.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Family of Saudi student killed in Cambridge prepare to take body home
The family of a Saudi student stabbed to death in Cambridge have arrived in the UK to take his body home, his uncle has revealed. Mohammed Yousef Alqassem, 20, was killed in what police have described as an 'unprovoked attack' while he was on a 10-week placement at an English language school. A 21-year-old man, Chas Corrigan, has been charged with murder and possession of a knife in a public place, and is due to appear at Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday. Majed Abalkhail, Mr Alqassem's uncle, told The National family members have travelled to the city to take his body back to their homeland. 'Mohammed's father is currently in Cambridge, accompanied by some of his brothers, to follow up on the procedures for bringing Mohammed home, in co-ordination with the Saudi embassy,' he said. Mr Abalkhail reiterated his view on crime in Britain, saying he had a sense of 'deep frustration and growing anger' that the country was losing its reputation for being safe. 'People from various countries, including many in the Arab world, are seriously rethinking any plans to visit or study in the UK,' he said. 'This is the hard truth being spoken in private conversations and social circles – and it's time it was said out loud. Britain is rapidly losing its global reputation, not just as a centre of education, but even as a travel destination. 'Sadly, Britain is becoming a symbol of lawlessness, insecurity, and government failure, and this perception is spreading fast among people of all backgrounds.' He cited the example of the fatal stabbing of Mohammed Afzal, 19, in Manchester as an example of Britain being a 'dangerous environment plagued by theft, stabbings and violent crime'. A man has been charged in relation to the death of Mr Afzal, who was killed in a car park on Friday. Two men remain in custody while two other men, who were also arrested, have been released on bail. Mr Abalkhail earlier paid tribute to his nephew as a 'calm, kind-hearted young man' who dreamt of pursuing a career as a doctor. Cambridgeshire Police said that its officers were called to Mill Park in Cambridge at 11.27pm on Friday following reports of violence. Mr Alqassem was pronounced dead at the scene at 12.01am on Saturday despite the efforts of paramedics. EF International Language Campuses Cambridge, a private school offering English language courses to overseas students, said it was 'deeply saddened' to confirm one of its adult students had died. In recent months there have been reports about crime in Britain, in particular London, and criticism of the police's ability to deal with it. Official statistics show a mixed picture, with some violent crime falling while theft and some knife crime has increased. In the year to March 2025, the police recorded 6.6 million crimes – similar to the previous year's figure of 6.7 million, but up from 4.2 million in the year ending in March 2015. Attacks involving the use of knives have gone up from just under 14,000 a decade ago to around 22,000 this year. Knife-enabled murders fell by 23 per cent to 204 offences, compared with 265 the year before. In 2024, London recorded nearly 17,000 knife crime offences − an 86.6 per cent increase over 10 years. In the same year there were over 35,000 robberies – an increase of 18.2 per cent over just three years. In the year to March there were 535 murders – more or less the same as 10 years ago and down from 868 in 2005. The UK has also experienced a wave of " Rolex ripper" luxury watch thefts and mobile phone snatches, which the police appear to have struggled to deal with. Analysis by the insurance company SquareTrade Europe of mobile theft and loss of data from 12 European markets found that the UK now represents 40 per of all European claims.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Startling new details reveal how Gazans are lured to their deaths in aid queues
The National can reveal new details of the systematic killing of Palestinians while attempting to collect aid in Gaza, based on new evidence provided by survivors. Striking testimony from Gazans who have escaped the crossfire of the Israeli military during distribution at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation 's aid sites purports to unveil a strategy that legitimises force being used by the military, luring desperate civilians into waves of live fire that can be justified by occupying forces. Survivors told The National that the pattern is that after waiting all night, crowds are shot at early in the morning before the arrival of tanks, which causes panic among aid-seekers. Fleeing the tanks, they are then shot at by Israeli soldiers for moving in "unauthorised directions". More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed while waiting to receive aid, at least 850 of them by Israel's army, since the inception of the US-Israeli backed GHF in May, the UN said last week. The question is: why? The National spoke to witnesses, experts, victims and others to uncover the circumstances under which starving Gazans are dying by bullets. The investigation revealed humiliating tactics used by the Israeli army to control crowds waiting for aid, often under inhumane conditions at sites that can only be described as death traps. It showed how soldiers have effectively been given licence to shoot and eliminate anyone they suspect might pose a threat, frequently killing men and women who are simply trying to feed their families. But first: what is the GHF? The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation for the distribution of aid was announced in February as an alternative to the UN in Gaza, as Israeli authorities did not trust the internationally recognised institution, even though it has been operating in the enclave successfully for decades. Israel's pretext for creating the GHF was based on its accusations against Hamas of stealing aid, although Israeli military officials, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the UN have said that is simply not the case. There are only four GHF distribution sites in Gaza, where nine out of 10 people have been displaced numerous times during the war. Three of these sites are in Rafah, in the south, where Israel had said it would create camps to "concentrate Palestinians" and prevent them from leaving. The Rafah sites are metres from each other, in militarised zones once declared unsafe by Israel's standards, as the army had been operating there. The fourth site, Wadi Gaza, is in a buffer zone along the recently created Netzarim corridor. The UN's refusal to work with the GHF is based on the organisation's lack of adherence to humanitarian principles. Trekking for food By design, the GHF is set up in a way that encourages displacement, because it forces people to trek through lawless, dangerous and difficult terrain with no guarantee they will be receiving aid, a crime under international humanitarian law – by forcing people to move closer to the few aid sites. In contrast, the UN operates hundreds of distribution sites across Gaza and delivers aid to those in need, whether in schools that have become shelters, hospitals, tents or homes. On average, the distribution sites give out anywhere between 3,000 and 9,000 boxes a day – according to posts on their Facebook page – barely enough for a population of 2.2 million, all of them in need. What began on May 27 with fenced queues, intense screenings and segregated entry and exit lanes, seems to have devolved into near total disorder in which crowds surge from every direction. There have been reports of live fire and tank fire at crowds almost every day since the sites have been up and running. Recent high-resolution satellite images confirm that the compounds were built with two main corridors to separate arrivals and departures. Other social media footage shows watchtowers overlooking each site, while makeshift utility poles carry floodlights around sand berms designed to contain crowds. Ultimately, Israel, which controls every land entry and exit point in Gaza, as well as its sea and sky, is responsible for the security of the sites in co-ordination with the GHF. Some GHF staff are armed private contractors – that is, people with a military background. People, such as retired Lt Col Anthony Aguilar, have been whistleblowers on the GHF's activities. Since the beginning of its operation, the system has been rigged and key components of its work were left unclear, he said. "There were no clear indicators, no established rules of engagement or standard operating procedures for engaging with civilians," he said on Tuesday. Mr Aguilar also highlighted the fact that some of the sites are in areas that had once been declared military zones by Israel; areas that Israel had told civilians to flee "for their own safety". "This is a violation of international law," Mr Aguilar claimed. Unpacking the process To better understand the circumstances, it is essential to explain the process and what unfolds each day at aid distribution sites across the famine-stricken Palestinian territory. According to witnesses and people with knowledge of the process, hungry civilians gather overnight in areas near distribution sites. The key is for people to arrive before the chaos starts, and for those who are even slightly late, death might be closer than assistance. In the case of the Wadi Gaza distribution site, which is in an "evacuation zone" – an area the Israelis have told Palestinians is too dangerous to live in – people spend the night under the Wadi Gaza bridge. Others, like 35-year-old Abu Al Majd, choose to depart just after fajr (dawn) prayers. From his tent in Nuseirat, it's a 3km walk, which almost guarantees him a spot closer to the aid site, even though there is no specific time for when the distribution, which lasts for around 10 minutes at a time, begins and ends. Then, throngs of people begin arriving, pushing those in front of them as they clamour for aid. That is when the gunshots begin, under the guise of "crowd control"; and when it does, it's impossible to know where and who the bullets are coming from. "They begin their warm-up by firing at the crowds at 6am before the tanks arrive around an hour later," Mr Al Majd told The National. Once that happens and panic sets in, people begin running in all directions, trying to avoid the fire. The Israeli army fires again because people start moving in "unauthorised directions". This happens again. And again. Once more, when people arrive to find that all the boxes have been taken, they sit and sift through the sand for grains of rice and pasta that their predecessors left. And another time, when there is nothing left, and the armed men tell people who had walked for 12km or so, starving and thirsty, to come back tomorrow. "They say 'we're staying here till you get us something' – and that's when the Israeli army starts firing again. The fourth massacre of the day," said an expert on aid distribution with knowledge of the process. Everyone a target The body of evidence backing deaths and injuries at or near the aid distribution points is solid. Testimonies, video footage and official statements all back up the claim that not enough is being done to prevent the sites from turning into crime scenes. Speaking to The National, a father Palestinian who had been attempting to go to a GHF site, described what he saw. "They killed a little boy, 10 metres from where I was," he told The National. "His mother and father looked on. With one bullet, both he and his uncle were shot dead. I will never forget that scene." Among the hundreds of victims was Ehab, a father of three, who left for one of the aid sites in Rafah early on June 10 and never returned. His family's calls to him went unanswered and they learnt of his fate later that day when his cousin Omar spotted Ehab in photos of unidentified victims of a shooting at aid sites who had been brought to Al Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. "He was shot in the head," Omar told The National. The bullets are not only aimed at aid seekers but also at those who help the wounded. In a testimony to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Mohammad Daghmeh, 24, said he was shot at 3.10am and was left bleeding until 5am. "There were many other men with me. One of them tried to get me out. He was shot in the head and died on my chest," he said. Others, such as Mahmoud Assaf, a researcher in his 40s, were terrified of what they saw on the one occasion they went to an aid site. He had left at 10am and came back at 7pm empty-handed. People, he said, were fighting like dogs over meat. When shots are fired, everybody ducks or tries to take cover. Chaos ensues. In a vicious cycle, Mr Assaf's health is exacerbated by hunger – the very hunger that is driving him to try to fetch food for his children. "They offered to go in my stead, but I couldn't bear the thought of something happening to them." The shooting, he said, seems to be at random. If they escape the bullets, pepper spray and stun grenades, aid seekers still run the risk of being trampled. The dangers are too numerous, he said. Mr Assaf, luckier than others, said he instead opted to buy aid being sold on the black market, albeit at exorbitant prices, with the cost of 1kg of flour ranging anywhere between $300 and $800, depending on the prospects of a ceasefire and the amount of aid entering the Strip. Israeli testimonies Shots fired at civilians rushing for boxes of aid containing their only source of food are being labelled as "crowd control" measures. But evidence of the carnage taking place at and around the distribution sites is widely documented in videos, testimonies and statements by members of the GHF who blew the whistle anonymously or openly. Speaking to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, several Israeli soldiers who worked at GHF distribution sites acknowledged the use of firepower, through heavy machine guns, grenade launchers and mortars, either as warning shots or to disperse crowds. "Our form of communication is gunfire," one said. "We open fire early in the morning if someone tries to get in line from a few hundred metres away and sometimes we just charge at them from close range. But there's no danger to the forces." Mr Aguilar claimed that using machineguns and military quadcopters to disperse hungry and desperate people in famine-stricken Gaza results in widespread panic and an increase in the lack of safety for them and others. He recounted numerous missteps, from bringing armed contractors like him on a tourist visa to witnessing war crimes in the form of live ammunition being used against unarmed civilians. The GHF has repeatedly rejected Mr Aguilar's claims, calling them "categorically false" and made by a "disgruntled former contractor who was terminated for misconduct". Claims of shootings are not limited to witnesses, former GHF officials and soldiers, however. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which operates a field hospital in Rafah, has been running "beyond maximum capacity almost daily" since the GHF began operations, treating more patients in that time than it did in the entire preceding year, it said. "Its staff are racing to treat an unrelenting tide of injuries, the vast majority caused by gunfire," it said. These include toddlers, teenagers, the elderly, mothers, and men and boys, who are known to frequent GHF sites. Last week, the UN released a video showing shots being fired towards people waiting for food in humiliating conditions, many of them children, as an aid convoy approaches. The shots are fired into the ground in front of a crowd of people, who begin rushing towards the UN vehicles as they draw near. Olga Cherevko, spokeswoman for the UN Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the UN team faced 'several constraints' when they went to pick up food supplies from the border crossing. 'One of the constraints that we faced was waiting about two and a half hours at an Israeli forces checkpoint, which by the time we were allowed to pass, we were met on the road by tens of thousands of hungry and desperate people who directly offloaded everything from the backs of our lorries.' Israel had not given the UN enough time to secure the aid on the lorries, Ms Cherevko said, making it easier for the packages to fall off. Blame game After months of denials and deflecting responsibility for its role in the reported deaths, Israel acknowledged some of the reality on the ground. "Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learnt," the Israeli army told The National, without clarifying what the new instructions were. A "review" of the "incidents" was being conducted, it said. Since Israel stopped all aid from entering Gaza in March, dozens of people, including 24 children under five, have died of malnutrition, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said. The army also clarified it is not running the GHF centres, although it "allows the American civil organisation [GHF] to distribute aid". Security of those zones is handled by the organisation," Israel's military added. But the GHF has taken a different position. Referring to a video with which the Associated Press confronted it during an investigation into its conduct, the organisation said the shots heard were not coming from them, but from Israeli forces. Israel has created an atmosphere in Gaza that has pushed people to starvation, caused prices to rise sharply to hundreds of dollars for basic necessities like flour and sugar, all the while making roads dangerous, medical assistance a rare privilege and safety almost non-existent. With almost the entire population of Gaza displaced, more than 40,000 people are crammed into a 1 square km space. To wonder why the Israeli army, or the armed guards working under its watch, are firing at hungry Gazans is to ask why the GHF has been created.
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Family of murdered Saudi student prepare to take body home
The family of a Saudi student stabbed to death in Cambridge have arrived in the UK to take his body home, his uncle has revealed. Mohammed Yousef Alqassem, 20, was killed in what police have described as an 'unprovoked attack' while he was on a 10-week placement at an English language school. A 21-year-old man, Chas Corrigan, has been charged with murder and possession of a knife in a public place, and is due to appear at Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday. Majed Abalkhail, Mr Alqassem's uncle, told The National family members have travelled to the city to take his body back to their homeland. 'Mohammed's father is currently in Cambridge, accompanied by some of his brothers, to follow up on the procedures for bringing Mohammed home, in co-ordination with the Saudi embassy,' he said. Mr Abalkhail reiterated his view on crime in Britain, saying he had a sense of 'deep frustration and growing anger' that the country was losing its reputation for being safe. 'People from various countries, including many in the Arab world, are seriously rethinking any plans to visit or study in the UK,' he said. 'This is the hard truth being spoken in private conversations and social circles – and it's time it was said out loud. Britain is rapidly losing its global reputation, not just as a centre of education, but even as a travel destination. 'Sadly, Britain is becoming a symbol of lawlessness, insecurity, and government failure, and this perception is spreading fast among people of all backgrounds.' He cited the example of the fatal stabbing of Mohammed Afzal, 19, in Manchester as an example of Britain being a 'dangerous environment plagued by theft, stabbings and violent crime'. A man has been charged in relation to the death of Mr Afzal, who was killed in a car park on Friday. Two men remain in custody while two other men, who were also arrested, have been released on bail. Mr Abalkhail said the UK was facing competition from other nations for tourists and students. 'What makes matters worse is that there are plenty of alternatives – countries offering high-quality education, world-class tourism, and most importantly, public safety." He earlier paid tribute to his nephew as 'calm, kind-hearted young man' who dreamt of pursuing a career as a doctor. Cambridgeshire Police said that its officers were called to Mill Park in Cambridge at 11.27pm on Friday following reports of violence. Mr Alqassem was pronounced dead at the scene at 12.01am on Saturday despite the efforts of paramedics. EF International Language Campuses Cambridge, a private school offering English language courses to overseas students, said it was 'deeply saddened' to confirm one of its adult students had died. In recent months there have been reports about crime in Britain and criticism of the police's inability to deal with apparent lawlessness, particularly in London. Official statistics and other data gathered shows a mixed picture, with some violent crime falling while theft and some knife crime has increased. In the year to March 2025, the police recorded 6.6 million crimes – similar to the previous year's figure of 6.7 million, but up from 4.2 million in the year ending in March 2015. Attacks involving the use of knives have gone up from just under 14,000 a decade ago to around 22,000 this year. Knife-enabled murders fell by 23 per cent to 204 offences, compared with 265 the year before. In 2024, London recorded nearly 17,000 knife crime offences − an 86.6 per cent increase over 10 years. In the same year there were over 35,000 robberies – an increase of 18.2 per cent over just three years. In the year to March there were 535 murders – more or less the same as 10 years ago and down from 868 in 2005. The UK has also experienced a wave of " Rolex ripper" luxury watch thefts and mobile phone snatches, which the police appear to have struggled to deal with. Analysis by the insurance company SquareTrade Europe of mobile theft and loss of data from 12 European markets found that the UK now represents 40 per of all European claims.
