NCA arrests Wrexham woman as part of European operation targeting Vietnamese people smuggling network
A 25-year-old woman has been arrested at an address in Wrexham as part of a coordinated National Crime Agency operation against a people smuggling network targeting Vietnamese migrants.
The arrest was made this morning, 30 March, alongside a simultaneous operation by French police who detained 16 people in and around Paris.
The NCA says the operation targeted an organised crime group suspected of facilitating migrants from Vietnam to central and eastern Europe, then on to France, before moving them to the UK on small boats and lorries.
The crime group is also suspected of holding the genuine Vietnamese passports of those it smuggled into the UK as debt bondage.
The woman arrested in Wrexham is suspected of laundering money for the group.
A second arrest was made this morning when NCA officers apprehended a 25-year-old man in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who is believed to have organised facilitation through lower members of the crime group.
A third UK arrest was made in Birmingham, where specialist officers from the NCA’s National Extradition Unit apprehended a 26-year-old man after a warrant for his arrest was issued by French authorities.
NCA officers have arrested three people as part of a coordinated operation with French police against a people smuggling organised crime group.
The group were involved in transporting Vietnamese migrants to the UK in lorries and small boats.
NCA officers apprehended a… pic.twitter.com/ILkAxy20xg
— National Crime Agency (NCA) (@NCA_UK) March 30, 2026
He is suspected of overseeing accommodation for migrants destined for the UK and was remanded into custody as extradition proceedings begin.
He was due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today.
During the French raids, police discovered 41 migrants, including 11 who were being housed at a single address.
The operation was supported by Europol, Eurojust and Belgian federal police.
Today’s arrests are connected to an earlier investigation which saw five men apprehended and charged in north west England and South Yorkshire in February this year, all alleged to be key figures in the same Vietnamese organised crime group.
Alex Cruise, NCA Senior Investigating Officer, said: “These arrests are a great example of partnership working with our colleagues in France to tackle the groups behind dangerous crossings to the UK.
“Such journeys put those being moved at great risk and undermine border security.
“Tackling people smuggling remains a top priority for the NCA, and this is one of approximately 100 ongoing investigations targeting groups or individuals both directly involved in organising journeys, or those who facilitate that criminality.
“Our investigation continues with the evidence we have gathered today.”
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