Suspected people traffickers have been arrested in a series of early-morning raids across London.
More than 50 immigration officers swooped on four addresses in Hounslow and Croydon on Thursday, arresting five people believed to be part of a suspected organised crime gang smuggling migrants into Britain.
Footage, released by the Home Office, shows men being detained at a home in Hounslow.
They were arrested on suspicion of involvement in facilitating illegal migration and, in some cases, money laundering.
Investigators believe the group has been operating internationally since 2024, offering what has been described as a “ferry”-style service for Vietnamese migrants.
Migrants were allegedly met abroad, concealed in vehicles with the driver’s knowledge and transported on ferries bound for the UK.
Once in Britain, the vehicles are thought to have travelled to pre-arranged locations, where other members of the group allegedly took the migrants onwards to accommodation.
Border Force dogs, Paddy and Milo, were deployed during the raids and sniffed out multiple Rolex watches, class A drugs, cash, a locked safe and electronic devices, which officers say will form key evidence.
Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Mike Tapp said: “This morning immigration officers took action against one of their top priority investigations, targeting a suspected prolific people smuggling gang. They have now all been arrested.
“Anyone who abuses our immigration rules should be in no doubt we will root them out.
“With enforcement arrests at a record high and a 33% increase in disrupting organised immigration crime, we are equipping officers with the tools they need to restore order to our borders.”
It comes as the Home Office steps up immigration and illegal working raids.
London saw more visits than any other region in the UK last year, government figures reveal.
Businesses in the capital were visited by immigration officers 2,715 times in 2025, up by more than 700 visits on the year before.
They resulted in 2,172 arrests in the city, Home Office data shows. Overall, there were 12,791 raids across Britain, with 8,971 people arrested.
Just 2,251 of these people were detained and 1,087 deported.
However, this was up on 2024 when 1,531 migrants were detained and 1,042 removed from the UK.
The Home Office data also revealed that restaurants, takeaways and cafes saw the highest numbers of illegal worker arrests, as the Government increased raids on the hospitality sector.
