Three suspected smugglers arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan as UK and Iraq sign new migrant retu

Three men alleged to be part of a global people smuggling network were arrested in Iraq last week, news agency AFP reported late on Tuesday (January 14).

The smuggling network is suspected of moving migrants from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) into the UK and other parts of Europe.

According to AFP, the suspects have been linked to the same network as an Iranian national who in November was sentenced to 17 years in prison for having arranged Channel crossings on small boats from his home in northern England.

The three men arrested in the KRI, who are from the major city of Sulaymaniyah in the region’s east, allegedly acted as a coordinator, a banker and a middle-man, AFP reported.

According to the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), the suspected gang members were arrested between January 8 and January 12. The NCA reportedly worked with the Kurdistan Region Security Council and Kurdistan Region Security Agency (Asayish) to apprehend them.

All three men are reportedly in custody and face prosecution for human trafficking offenses by the KRI authorities.

According to AFP, this was the first time the NCA has worked with Asayish in Sulaymaniyah as well as Erbil, the KRI’s capital city, to target high-ranking suspected people smugglers who are trying to transport migrants across Europe and into small boats to the UK.

British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the investigation would have “a material effect on the criminal networks currently trafficking people across Europe.”

Earlier this month, the British government announced it would roll out new sanctions to go after smuggler networks and manufacturers of boats.

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To Europe on yachts

According to AFP, one of the three suspects arrested in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is a 38-year-old man accused of working with the network to co-ordinate the movements of more than a dozen yachts.

The yachts were reportedly used to transport migrants into Greece or Italy, the NCA said, with each of them carrying 60 or 70 people. Once the migrants arrived in the EU, they would then be transported on to northern Europe or the UK.The second detained suspect is a middle-aged hawala banker who allegedly processed financial transactions on behalf of the aforementioned convicted Iranian national. The hawala system is an alternative and often informal money transfer method that is based on trust.

The third detained suspect, a man in his 30s, is accused of being a middle-man gathering migrants to be moved by the network.

Rob Jones, the NCA’s Director-General of Operations, called the arrests “the next significant step in taking on the people smuggling gangs who dominate the deadly cross-Channel small boat trade”.

Both regular and irregular migration are key issues for Starmer as he faces domestic pressure to curb arrivals.

Small boat crossings through the English Channel from northern France to the UK increased by 25 percent last year. With at least 76 recorded deaths, 2024 was the deadliest year for Channel crossings to date. According to French officials, there were also over 5,800 sea rescues and 870 attempts at crossings foiled.

Iraq-UK deal on returning irregular migrants

Meanwhile, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Tuesday (January 14) met with his UK counterpart Keir Starmer in London to discuss security, migration and infrastructure, among other issues.

According to news agency dpa, Starmer and Sudani agreed on the principles for the return of Iraqi irregular migrants from the UK and discussed the next practical steps, a joint statement said.

In late November, Iraq and the UK already agreed several deals to return migrants and combat people smuggling. It was seen as a big step towards fulfilling British prime minister Keir Starmer’s pledge to “smash the gangs” operating abroad.

The two leaders reportedly also secured a 15 billion dollar trade and investment package during a UK visit hailed as a “new era” in ties.

The agreements come more than 20 years after Britain took part in the US-led invasion which left the country reeling from conflict for years.

According to dpa, Starmer — who became Britain’s Prime Minister last July — is eager to reset ties with China, the EU and a host of other countries, and is reportedly keen to seal any deals to give Britain’s ailing economy a boost.