Police smash Vietnamese Facebook gang that offers Channel crossing to migrants ... trends now
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Police have smashed a Vietnamese Facebook-based gang that offers Channel crossing to migrants on social media for thousands of pounds a time.
The gang who were spread across Deptford, Croydon and Leicester have been arrested on suspicion of helping migrants illegally enter the UK by targeting social media posts at the Vietnamese community.
Officers arrested a 23-year-old woman from Croydon and a 64-year-old man from London on Monday morning.
A man aged 34 was arrested in Leicester and the three were charged with assisting unlawful immigration.
A fourth individual, a 25-year-old man was also arrested in Croydon with a warrant issued by the French police who believe he was involved in people smuggling and drug offences. He will now face extradition proceedings.
A 23-year-old woman from Croydon was arrested along with three other gang member across the UK
One of the gang members being led out of a house in Croydon after officers arrested her on suspicion of assisting illegal migrants to come to the UK
The woman is bundled into an orange car after police tracked her down to a house in Croydon. She had been targeting Vietnamese migrants on Facebook offering help to cross the Channel
Investigators believe the 64-year-old was a driver who collected migrants who had arrived on small boats and brought them at least once to the Croydon address.
As part of the combine UK and French investigation, 12 individuals have been arrested in the Paris area, suspected of being linked to the same people smuggling network.
The arrest comes as prime minister Rishi Sunak claimed that trafficking gangs are now targeting vulnerable Vietnamese migrants.
