Home Office cops smashed down doors across the country yesterday amid an 'arms race' against people smugglers.
Immigration officials launched dawn raids in a coordinated blitz across England as part of a nationwide crackdown on a gang suspected of ferrying migrants into Britain by air, land and sea.
Four people were arrested as officers kicked down doors at addresses in Southampton, Huddersfield, Middlesbrough and Stockport.
The gang is believed to have smuggled up to 50 illegal migrants via commercial flights, concealed in cars and on ferries in operations spanning across Europe. For
They are also suspected of forging bogus passports, national identity cards and blank visas at a cost of £1,000 each.