Patel joins raids as police arrests suspected people smugglers

THE home secretary joined dawn raids carried out by police as suspected heads of people smuggling gang were arrested on Wednesday (19).

The smugglers used minicabs and lorry drivers to move migrants in and out of the UK and Priti Patel said they were “treating innocent lives as a commodity and lining their pockets while people are dying”.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) swoop in Woodford Green and Bushwood, east London - resulted in the arrests of men, aged 52 and 28, held on suspicion of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration.

Another five people, who are licensed minicab drivers were also arrested for allegedly moving migrants to and from drop-off and pick-up points.

Wednesday's operation involved 130 officers, who also found a safe house in Mile End with bunk beds, where 11 suspected migrants were found.

In March, as part of UK's biggest overhaul of the asylum system, Patel had set out plans to crack down with maximum life sentences for those involved in people smuggling.

She had also denied asylum to migrants who had travelled through a "safe" country such as France to reach the UK.

According to the NCA, more than 100 migrants were discovered during the operation including three suspected criminals who were trying to flee the UK.

The raids were part of an investigation to track an organised group and its network who use lorries to smuggle people between France and the UK.

“We believe the arrests today, coupled with the actions we have already taken, will end the activities of that network," NCA branch operations manager Chris Hill said.

Meanwhile, Good Morning Britain host Adil Ray faced an online backlash over his tweet in which he slammed the home secretary for joining a police raid.

“Priti Patel’s parents & mine were told to leave Uganda & Kenya, in some cases to save their lives. After much protest (at one point they wanted to dump them on the Falklands) UK let them in. To think years later a daughter of that generation would pose for a photo opp like this,” tweeted Ray.

Ray’s tweet prompted criticism from social media users including Conservative MPs Guy Opperman and Simon Clarke who called his post “misleading” and “unfair.”

In follow-up posts Ray stood by his statement by pointing out Patel promoted her attendance of the arrests as part of her “new plan for immigration” and that the photo “is designed to demonise migrants.”