Two men have been arrested after raids in Lewisham and Essex as part of an investigation into an Albanian organised crime gang suspected of attempting to smuggle people into the UK in lorries.

The Belgian-led operation saw 12 arrests made in Belgium and one in Germany over the course of September 23-25.

The two suspects in London, Albanian nationals Admir Canaj, 38 and Astrit Ramoshi (37), were arrested on Tuesday (September 24) and detained under European Arrest Warrants.

They have since appeared before Westminster Magistrates, where they were remanded in custody pending extradition to Belgium.

They are accused of heading up the UK arm of a network which used a hotel in the Ghent area of Belgium as a holding point for migrants, who would then be hidden in specially adapted compartments in lorries.

The migrants, mainly Albanians, would pay up to 15,000 euros (approx. £13,200) a time to the group, who would use co-operative lorry drivers to transport the migrants onwards.

As part of the operation 37 Albanian nationals were found in a raid on a hotel in Ghent. Investigators suspect they were waiting for transportation to the UK.

Steve Reynolds, head of organised immigration crime operations for the NCA, said:

“This operation involved simultaneous raids in by the NCA in the UK and the Belgian Federal Police.

“Those arrested in the UK now face extradition to Belgium, and we will continue to assist our Belgian colleagues in their investigations.

“People smugglers treat people as a commodity to be exploited and profited from, and we are determined to tackle those networks targeting the UK no matter where they operate. This is another example of that.”