UK Immigration Enforcement officers arrested 49 individuals during a three-day crackdown from September 22 to September 24, targeting organized crime gangs smuggling people from the Republic of Ireland into the United Kingdom.
The multi-agency operation, known as Operation Comby, involved patrols across seaports, airports, roads, and rail networks in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales.
Authorities focused on disrupting the Common Travel Area, which allows passport-free movement for British and Irish citizens.
Operation Comby Results and Incidents
Since July 2024, Operation Comby has led to over 250 arrests of organized criminals and immigration offenders, 113 removals, and the seizure of nearly £500,000 in cash, according to the Home Office.
At Belfast International Airport, authorities detained two Romanian women who arrived from Ireland without required permissions.
They were later identified as potential human trafficking victims, and intelligence on criminal organizers was obtained.
One woman was held for removal to Romania, while the second returned voluntarily to Ireland.
In a separate incident, Belfast Harbour Police intercepted a vehicle containing four Romanian nationals and seized £130,000 worth of counterfeit Apple products.
All four passengers were arrested and face planned removal.
"We are bearing down on these organised criminal gangs who operate on wicked lies and deception," said Anna Turley, Minister for Border Security and Asylum.
"Individuals who think they can get round our laws will quickly find out that they will not be successful," Turley added.
"This operation is a very clear example of Immigration Enforcement's round the clock work disrupt these criminal gangs and remove those with no right to be in the UK," Turley stated.
The joint actions run alongside Operation Gull, a routine deployment initiative across Northern Irish ports that yielded nearly 1,000 arrests over the past year.
"As part of our wider crackdown on abuse of the Common Travel Area, Operation Comby is delivering an intelligence-led approach to disrupting Organised Immigration Crime, targeting criminal networks that exploit these routes," said Eddy Montgomery, Director of Enforcement, Compliance and Crime.
"Immigration crime can take many forms, but at the heart of what we do is protecting vulnerable people and ensuring the criminal gangs who exploit them are brought down," Montgomery said.
Between July 2024 and June 2026, enforcement officers conducted nearly 3,000 visits in Northern Ireland, executing over 2,400 arrests and returning nearly 1,000 people, including roughly 500 to Ireland.
To support further enforcement, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to double the Immigration Enforcement budget by the 2028/29 fiscal year and expand workforce numbers by 60 percent.
Government figures indicate that more than 80,000 foreign criminals and immigration offenders have been removed from the UK since the recent election.
