AN IRISHMAN is one of four people charged in Britain with people-smuggling offences after an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Desmond Rice, 46, of Meadowcroft, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire appeared before magistrates in Nottingham today.
Also in court were Albanian nationals Arsen Feci, 44, and Klodian Shenaj, 48, of Broxtowe Street, Nottingham and Banet Tershana, 51, of Harmsworth Crescent, Hove.
The men were arrested on Tuesday by NCA officers as part of an investigation into a group alleged to have smuggled migrants to Britain in boats from Belgium.
Investigators allege that Rice, Feci and Shenaj were involved in acquiring a rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) and using it to travel to Belgium to collect migrants, before landing at Margate in Kent.
The four men are alleged to be part of a gang organising a series of people-smuggling runs to Britain from Europe, including a number of crossing events last year.
"These arrests follow an extensive investigation into individuals who we believe were involved in a number of migrant crossings from Belgium to the Kent coast in 2022," NCA Branch Commander Colin Williams said on Tuesday.
"Tackling people smuggling continues to be a priority for the NCA as we target and disrupt organised crime groups at every step of the route."
All four men were remanded in custody until their next appearance at Nottingham Crown Court on March 29, 2023.
