The suspected ringleader of a migrant smuggling network bringing thousands of Iranians into the UK has been held at Heathrow.
The alleged kingpin was arrested at the airport as he was bound for Dubai en route to Brazil after 14 associates were detained in Spain accused of bringing illegal migrants as young as five into Britain.
It is claimed that the gang helped more than 200 people a year enter the UK for ten years. The migrants were given passports bought from Spanish citizens and forged identity documents to allow them to travel from Spain through European airports.
A collaboration involving Scotland Yard, the Spanish national police and Europol led to the arrests of 101 suspects, including 44 Iranians held at airports and 42 Spanish citizens accused of selling their passports to the gang for between €500 and €3,000.
The network charged migrants an average of €25,000 euros for the fake passports, travel and accommodation arrangements. The investigation was launched last year when four Iranians were discovered trying to fly from Hamburg to Britain using false documents, Europol said.
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Flats in the Malaga area were used for the migrants to stay in before they headed for Britain.
In raids on properties used by the gang, police discovered two pistols, another pistol and rifle without firing pins, €1,300 in cash and a high-end car, as well as passports — 30 Iranian and 10 Spanish, and 400 blank ID cards. Seven migrants were held, among them a five-year-old boy.
A spokesman for Europol said: “The leader of the criminal group was arrested by the Metropolitan Police after a European arrest warrant was issued. The group was perfectly structured and each member had a defined role, ranging from recruiting the migrants in their country of origin, to facilitating the transfers, hosting them in safe houses in Spain, and supplying the travel documents.”