Five Years, 300 Arrests: UK-France Joint Unit Hits Smuggling Gangs Hard
A UK–France crime-fighting partnership set up to dismantle people smuggling gangs has helped bring down more than 50 organised crime networks and secure over 300 arrests in just five years.
The Joint Intelligence Cell (JIC/URO), created in July 2020, is based in northern France and sees officers from the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and Home Office International Operations (HOIO) working alongside OLTIM, a specialist French police unit targeting organised immigration crime.
Operating side-by-side, British and French officers have shared real-time intelligence, disrupted smuggling routes, seized dozens of boats and engines, and prevented hundreds of Channel crossings.
Breaking the Networks
Since its launch, the JIC/URO has directly contributed to the dismantling of at least 52 organised immigration crime gangs operating on French soil, many of them responsible for dangerous small boat crossings.
Cases have ranged from high-profile extraditions to complex multinational operations. In one instance, intelligence from the unit led to the arrest of Kaiwan Poore at Manchester Airport in July 2022. Extradited to France, Poore was convicted in November 2024 as part of a network believed to have facilitated thousands of Channel crossings. He was sentenced to five years in prison, while other gang members received up to 15 years.
In July 2025, six members of an Afghan-run smuggling ring were jailed in France for a combined 26 years and fined €193,000 after a JIC/URO-developed investigation. A month earlier, nine smugglers were sentenced to 64 years in prison over a fatal December 2022 crossing that left four people dead and four missing.
December 2024 saw another large-scale operation when NCA intelligence supported OLTIM in a cross-border crackdown, leading to 17 arrests in Germany and France and the seizure of dozens of boats and engines.
Intelligence on the Frontline
NCA Deputy Director Rick Jones said the unit’s work was crucial to UK border security:
“France is a key partner for the UK in the fight against organised immigration crime… We are determined to do all we can to target these cruel people smuggling gangs who are putting lives at risk.”
Victoria Pullen, Deputy Director for Home Office International Operations, said the collaboration was saving lives:
“The joint unit has seen hundreds of arrests and seizures of unfit vessels headed for the UK, saving countless lives at sea.”
With hundreds of arrests, multiple convictions, and smuggling networks dismantled, the UK–France joint cell has become a cornerstone of Europe’s fight against organised immigration crime — a battle that officials on both sides of the Channel say is far from over.
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