‘Banker’ behind Syrian migrant-smuggling gang arrested in UK

Group accused of taking cash from migrants to cross English Channel

Migrants sit onboard a boat navigating in agitated waters between Sangatte and Cap Blanc-Nez (Cape White Nose), in the English Channel off the coast of northern France, as they attempt to cross the maritime borders between France and the United Kingdom on August 27, 2020. - The number of migrants crossing the English Channel -- which is 33,8 km (21 miles) at the closest point in the Straits of Dover --  in small inflatable boats has spiralled over the summer of the 2020. According to authorities in northern France some 6,200 migrants have attempted the crossing between January 1 and August 31, 2020, compared with 2,294 migrants for the whole of 2019. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
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The home of a senior member of a Syrian crime gang suspected of smuggling hundreds of migrants across the English Channel has been raided by authorities.

British immigration officials broke down the door of the 36-year-old’s north London home and later arrested him.

He is accused of being one of the gang's most senior 'bankers' and is allegedly responsible for laundering hundreds of thousands of pounds from migrants who paid for the crossings, The Telegraph reported.

The man is the 14th suspected member of the gang to be arrested after previous raids earlier this year.

A separate raid on a neighbouring flat in the summer led to 11 members of the gang being arrested.

In that raid, authorities found £150,000 ($201,399) in cash and seized two vehicles.

Home Secretary Priti Patel, who oversaw the raid on the 36-year-old’s home, said authorities were making strides in clamping down on people smuggling gangs thanks to greater information-sharing between Britain and France.

More than 8,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats this year - more than four times the numbers seen in 2019.

“We need French cooperation as well to be able to return them back to where they embarked from. That work will continue,” Ms Patel said.

“But that’s not the full answer. I have spoken publicly before about the need for an end to end approach and the need for changes to the system about how we deal with illegal migration.”

Britain's Home Secretary Priti Patel looks on ahead of a minute's silence inside the atrium at Scotland Yard in London on September 25, 2020, following the shooting of a British police officer by a 23-year-old man being detained at the centre. - A British police officer was shot dead in the early hours of Friday morning, Scotland Yard said, the first officer to be killed by gunfire while on duty in over eight years. (Photo by Victoria Jones / POOL / AFP)
Home Secretary Priti Patel. AFP

Ms Patel also said murderers and rapists could be banned from claiming asylum in Britain.

She said Britain's asylum system was “broken” and needed reform after 23 criminals who were due to be deported to Jamaica earlier this year managed to lodge appeals and remain in the country.


"This Government will never stand in solidarity with rapists and murderers and we remain committed to removing these foreign criminals from our country. They have violated our laws and have no right to be here," she told the Daily Mail.