A multi-million pound people-smuggling racket believed to have brought thousands of people into Britain has been smashed

BBC News:

Nineteen people were arrested after dawn raids in London and Lincolnshire as part of a crackdown on the alleged smuggling of Turkish Kurds into the UK.

Eight of the 19 were arrested on suspicion of involvement in aiding people smuggling, said police.

Operation Bluesky has involved officers across six European countries.

Detectives from Italy, Holland, France, Belgium and Denmark have all taken part along with the Metropolitan Police.

The network is thought to have brought people to Britain, in groups of up to 20 a time, concealed in cars, vans, lorries and aircraft.

The illegal immigrants, smuggled in from the Kurdish areas of Turkey, pay between £3,000 and £5,000 for journeys which often take months, said police.

The journeys involve being passed on to gang members in several European countries and staying at safe houses before being smuggled into the UK in cramped conditions.

Many of the immigrants find low-paid, black market menial jobs in north London's Turkish community.

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