WIREDGOV

Seven suspects have been arrested in the United Kingdom as the National Crime Agency collaborated with police and international partners on INTERPOL's largest-ever operation targeting people smuggling and human trafficking.

Operation Liberterra III was led by the NCA’s Joint International Crime Centre (JICC) and targeted offenders wanted for a range of crimes who had entered the UK illegally.

Officers from the National Extradition Unit at the JICC made five arrests across London, Bedfordshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester.

Those arrested included:

• A 30-year-old Sri Lankan man arrested in Liverpool and wanted in France for the rape of a child
• A 38-year-old Iraqi man wanted for rape in Germany arrested in Greater Manchester
• A 29-year-old Egyptian man wanted for murder in France arrested in Bedfordshire
• A 41-year-old Syrian man arrested in Greater Manchester and wanted in Germany for organising illegal small boat crossings
• A 30-year-old Bulgarian man arrested in London for human trafficking and wanted in France

Greater Manchester Police teams also made two arrests across the county during the operation which was held between 10 and 21 November last year.

• A 23-year-old Ukrainian man wanted in Germany for sexual exploitation
• A 31-year-old Romanian man wanted in Romania for sexual exploitation
• Extradition proceedings are underway for all seven suspects.

The UK hosted the European Operational Coordination Unit, facilitated by Kent Police and led by the NCA. The unit maintained a regular line of communication with Europol and with police teams sharing information and acting on it.

NCA Deputy Director of International Rick Jones, said:

"This global operation is a prime example of our commitment to working closely and effectively with international partners to tackle people smuggling and human trafficking.

"We were proud to host the European Co-ordination Unit and used a range of our specialist capabilities to gather and disseminate intelligence to law enforcement agencies across the world, and to enable our officers to identify, locate and detain offenders wanted overseas.

"As a result, seven suspects wanted in connection to serious offences have been removed from our communities and extradition proceedings are ongoing to ensure they face justice."

Globally, 3,744 suspects were arrested including 1,800 for human trafficking and migrant smuggling offences.

The authorities detected 12,992 migrants across the 119 participating countries and 4,414 potential victims of human trafficking were safeguarded.

The NCA worked with an array of international and domestic partners during Operation Liberterra III; including Europol, Frontex, and across the United Kingdom including Immigration Enforcement, Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.