Gangs and people linked to people-smuggling named and shamed with new sanctions

Gang leaders and individuals linked to people-smuggling have been named and shamed today in a world's-first sanctions scheme.

The government announced on Wednesday that 25 people and entities "at the heart of people-smuggling networks" have been targeted.

They include gang leaders based in the Balkans and North Africa , suppliers of people-smuggling equipment in Asia and money movers in the Middle East, the Foreign Office said.

Among those named by the Foreign Office are Bledar Lala, an Albanian in control of the Belgian operations of an organised criminal group which smuggles migrants.

Others include the Tetwani gang, which the government said is one of the Balkans's most violent people-smuggling gangs and the Kazawi gang said to control people-smuggling routes in North Africa.

The individuals face having their assets seized and will be banned from entering the UK after being sanctioned. It is the first time any government in the world has announced such a scheme, which is similar to the targeting of Russian oligarchs linked to the invasion of Ukraine.

Those named carried out a range of jobs facilitating dangerous crossings - from providing fake passports, transporting engine parts and moving cash.

Ministers hope the move will help deliver a hammer blow to an industry which has grown to be worth over £10billion a year in the last five years. UK firms who deal with sanctioned individuals will face hefty fines worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

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Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “This is a landmark moment in the government’s work to tackle organised immigration crime, reduce irregular migration to the UK, and deliver on the Plan for Change.

“From Europe to Asia we are taking the fight to the people-smugglers who enable irregular migration, targeting them wherever they are in the world and making them pay for their actions.

"My message to the gangs who callously risk vulnerable lives for profit is this: we know who you are, and we will work with our partners around the world to hold you to account.“

It comes days after a landmark treaty was signed with Germany - where gangs have been found to store small boat components - to work together on people smuggling.

Announcing the sanctions regime would be put in place earlier this week, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The new sanctions regime marks a decisive step in our fight against the criminal gangs who profit from human misery. It will allow us to target the assets and operations of people-smugglers wherever they operate, cutting off their funding and dismantling their networks piece by piece."

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