People smuggling

Gang of 115 arrested across Europe for 'smuggling 6,000 Ukrainians into Britain through Ireland using fake Polish passports'

Police have smashed a gang said to be responsible for smuggling thousands of illegal immigrants into Britain through Ireland.

More than 100 people including the alleged gang leaders have been arrested as part of the pan-European operation, Spanish police say.

Officers in Madrid announced the crackdown today as they claimed the people smugglers had trafficked around 6,000 Ukrainian immigrants using mostly fake Polish travel documents.

The favoured route into Britain involved a flight to Dublin from Belgium, France or Spain followed by a ferry to the UK.

Around half the 115 arrests took place in Spanish airports including those in Barcelona, Murcia, Bilbao and Malaga.

The alleged gang leader, said to have been responsible for circulating the fake documents and arranging the illegal immigrants' travel to the UK, was held in Barcelona where he was living with his partner.