Hundreds arrested in joint swoops

MORE than 300 suspected people smugglers have been arrested and 52 gang networks smashed in the five years the National Crime Agency has worked with French police, figures show.

- By Paul Jeeves Crime Editor

The Joint Intelligence Cell (JIC) said the gangs had been operating on French soil.

They were dismantled as a result of NCA officers working with their French counterparts.

The NCA said many of the groups had been involved in organising small boat crossings on the Channel.

It comes amid growing pressure on law enforcement to shut off the supply of rigid inflatable boats to disrupt the people smuggling gangs.