Powerful new laws will bolster Immigration Enforcement, police and National Crime Agency operations to catch and arrest criminal smuggling gangs abusing Britain’s borders by fuelling illegal migration.

The new legislation, which received Royal Assent today, includes a raft of measures which take inspiration from counter-terror laws to allow law enforcement to intercept smuggling gangs’ criminal activity earlier on in the investigations processes – for example downloading a route map to use for a small boat crossing – enabling them to act before migrants are brought illegally to this country.

The National Crime Agency assess that the new powers could help speed up investigations in cases where it might previously have taken months or even years to prove offences.

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