British police have arrested 11 people, including seven in London, in overnight raids as part of Europe-wide investigation into people smuggling.
They are alleged to be part of an organised crime gang that used specially adapted vehicles with hidden compartments to illegally transport people into the UK.
Four people were arrested in Birmingham and Gateshead, while 15 others were detained in Bulgaria and Belgium.
All were held on suspicion of assisting illegal immigration on Thursday morning.
Most of the people smuggled by the gang were from Afghanistan, while some were Vietnamese and Pakistani.
The raids were carried out as part of a Home Office probe into "a systematic attempt to evade the UK's immigration controls".
Steve Dann, director of criminal and financial investigation, said: “People smuggling is a cruel and dangerous trade in which often vulnerable individuals are treated as commodities.
"Many are passed into the hands of other crime gangs who would seek to exploit them for modern slavery purposes – including labour exploitation and the illicit sex trade."
The National Crime Agency (NCA) and international law enforcement agencies Europol and Eurojust are also involved in the investigation.
Chris Hogben, deputy head of the NCA's people smuggling taskforce, said: “Criminal gangs often facilitate the arrival of illegal migrants into the UK by exploiting their desperation without thought for safety and with the sole motive of profit.
“We see this through migrants being sent across the channel in unseaworthy small boats or stuffed into the back of cramped lorries, vans and cars."
