Seven arrests during operations as part of national week of action in Suffolk

A national week of action targeting immigration crime and related offending and documents being used on Suffolk’s road network led to seven people being arrested.

Two events took place in Suffolk, one in Eye on 15 June and another in Felixstowe on 17 June. These were conducted as part of Op Lockstream which is a multi-agency UK law enforcement initiative led by Organised Immigration Crime. The days of action focussed on tackling inland organised immigration crime, human trafficking and the exploitation of vulnerable people.

Officers from the Norfolk and Suffolk Serious and Organised Crime Unit, Suffolk Commercial Vehicle Unit, Moonshot team, South Sentinel team and the West Intelligence team were joined by the Immigration service and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

The day of action in Eye saw six arrests including two people stopped in commercial vehicles who were in breach of working conditions, another who had overstayed their visa, while one person was found to be driving a commercial vehicle while disqualified.

In total two vehicles were seized, while four vehicle defect rectification scheme notices were given for vehicle defects, while one fixed penalty notice was issued for no insurance.

In Felixstowe 11 vehicles were stopped with one vehicle seized for no insurance. Three stop and searches were conducted, while one person was arrested for an immigration offence, with a £45,000 fine issued by the immigration service.

Sgt Josh Preston said: "Operation Lockstream provided an important opportunity to work closely with Immigration Enforcement and partner agencies to target organised immigration crime and the associated criminality that can impact our communities.

"The week of action resulted in arrests and seizures, while also allowing us to identify and disrupt individuals involved in immigration offending and wider criminal activity.

"We would like to thank all officers, staff and partner agencies who contributed to the operation and helped deliver these positive results."