People Smuggling
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been (a) intercepted and (b) arrested since January 2025 in relation to smuggling illegal migrants into the UK.
Answered by Alex Norris
Data on the number of detected individuals arriving via illegal routes to the UK is published on .GOV.UK at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a05e3b7ee62840dba48a2c7/illegal-entry-routes-to-the-uk-dataset-mar-2026.xlsx.
In relation to arrests, data has been published on Organised Immigration Crime (OIC) disruptions. These include various forms of law enforcement action such as asset seizures, equipment seizures, revocation of licenses, arrests, convictions or sentences. Data on OIC disruptions is provided to the Home Office by the National Crime Agency and gathered from the Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigations (CFI) team and Home Office Intelligence. This can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-march-2026/what-is-being-done-to-stop-organised-immigration-crime.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →