People smuggling suspect wanted by Antwerp authorities is arrested in Birmingham
A man wanted by Antwerp’s authorities for his connection with an alleged people smuggling network was arrested by the UK’s National Crime Agency in close cooperation with Belgian law enforcement.
British national Saman Sdiq, 33, was arrested at his home address in the UK on Sunday 17 September. He is suspected of providing vehicles from the UK to the criminal network of which several other alleged members have already been arrested and are in custody in Belgium.
Authorities believe the network collected migrants around Calais and took them into Belgium, before loading them into lorries near the town of Postel, near the Dutch-Belgian border. From there they transported migrants across the Channel.
Belgian prosecutors believe they have identified more than 15 attempts to smuggle migrants between November 2017 and April 2018. On a number of occasions migrants, including minors and young children, were found hidden in the cargo space of lorries.
British Ambassador to Belgium, Alison Rose said:
Belgium and the UK stand firm on stamping out this sort of crime and the horrendous ill-treatment of the vulnerable. The condition in which smuggled migrants are made to travel long distances is appalling. We will continue to find those responsible and punish them.
Notes to editors: National Crime Agency press release