Three Men Arrested in Connection with Lancashire Boat Crossing Scheme

Preston: Three men were arrested recently for their involvement in a people-smuggling ring. This network is tied to a man from Lancashire who was sentenced to 17 years for facilitating small boat crossings.

These guys were part of a larger operation that moved migrants from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq into the UK and Europe. They were connected to Amanj Hassan Zada, the Preston man who got locked up last November after a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation.

Zada was pretty brazen about his activities, even promoting his services on social media. He shared videos of migrants thanking him for their passage, including one where a group on a boat to Italy praised him. There was even a wild party video where he was celebrated as “the best smuggler,” tossing cash around and firing a gun in the air.

One of the arrested men, a 38-year-old from Sulaymaniyah, is accused of coordinating the movement of yachts that transported migrants to Greece and Italy. Each boat was packed with 60 to 70 people, who were then sent on to northern Europe or the UK.

The NCA’s operation was a big deal, marking the first time they worked with local security agencies in Iraq to tackle high-ranking smugglers. All three men are still in custody and facing serious charges for human trafficking.

NCA officials are determined to disrupt these dangerous networks. They’ve been tracking this operation from Preston all the way back to Sulaymaniyah. The cooperation with local authorities has been crucial, as these gangs are putting lives at risk with their false promises of safe journeys.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper praised the NCA’s efforts, emphasizing the importance of dismantling these criminal networks. She highlighted a recent deal with Iraq to enhance law enforcement cooperation, which is already making a difference in targeting these smuggling operations.