WIREDGOV

Two men arrested by the National Crime Agency have appeared in court in Belgium charged with being part of a criminal network involved in people smuggling.

The men, Khalil Alksaied Ahmed, 28, from Wembley, London, and Omran Hassan, 25, of Sparkbrook, Birmingham were detained by the NCA on a European Arrest Warrant in March.

At a hearing at Westminster Magistrates on Wednesday 19 August a district judge ordered Hassan and Ahmed be removed to Belgium to face charges there.

They were extradited separately last week and on Tuesday 1 September appeared before a court in Leuven.

The UK arrests follow a joint operation involving the NCA and Belgian Federal Police, looking into a network believed to have smuggled up to 200 individuals into the UK in lorries through the Channel ports.

The migrants, mainly Syrians, Iraqis and Albanians, would be loaded on to lorries at motorway service stations and lay-bys in Belgium before attempting to cross to the UK. They would be charged up to £5,000 if they were successful.

In January 2015 police in Belgium arrested 11 individuals suspected of being involved in the same network.

Adam Warnock, senior investigating officer for the NCA, said:

“People smuggling is an international crime so it requires law enforcement to work together across borders to target and disrupt those involved.

“We have an excellent relationship with the Belgian authorities and we continue to support and assist them with this investigation.”