Immigration Enforcement has made 49 arrests across three days of targeted action in a crackdown on criminal gangs illegally smuggling people from the Republic of Ireland to the UK.

The arrests are part of Operation Comby, a multi-agency crackdown, which aims to stamp out abuse of the Common Travel Area (CTA) between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Between September 22 and 24, law enforcement agencies patrolled a number of ports, roads and rail networks  across Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales in a bid to catch those circumventing UK immigration laws.

The operation has led to the arrest of over 250 organised criminals and immigration offenders since July 2024 – of which 113 have been removed, the Home Office said.

The operation has also seen the seizure of almost half a million pounds in cash.

The operation works alongside Immigration Enforcement's Operation Gull which provides routine deployments across Northern Irish ports and airports, tackling abuse of the CTA.

It led to almost 1,000 arrests in the last year.

At Belfast International Airport, two Romanian women were arrested as illegal entrants to the UK, having travelled from Ireland to Northern Ireland without required permissions.

The Home Office said "further checks identified them as possible victims of people trafficking".

It said "intelligence was gained on the criminals who pushed them into the journey".

One of the women was detained for removal back to Romania, while the other returned voluntarily back to Ireland.

Elsewhere, following intelligence sharing, Belfast Harbour Police stopped a vehicle at Belfast Port carrying four Romanian nationals.

Searches of the vehicle found £130,000 worth of counterfeit Apple products.

All four individuals were arrested and now face removal from the UK.

Anna Turley, Minister for Border Security and Asylum, said: "We are bearing down on these organised criminal gangs who operate on wicked lies and deception.

"Individuals who think they can get round our laws will quickly find out that they will not be successful.

"This operation is a very clear example of Immigration Enforcement's round the clock work disrupt these criminal gangs and remove those with no right to be in the UK."

Eddy Montgomery, Director of Enforcement, Compliance and Crime, said: "Immigration crime can take many forms, but at the heart of what we do is protecting vulnerable people and ensuring the criminal gangs who exploit them are brought down."

These arrests come alongside a wider 74% surge in organised immigration crime arrests.

Between July 2024 and June 2026, Immigration Enforcement conducted almost 3,000 enforcement visits in Northern Ireland resulting in over 2,400 arrests.

Nearly 1,000 people have been subsequently returned, with almost 500 of these being to Ireland.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced that she will double the Immigration Enforcement budget by 2028/29 and boost workforce numbers by 60%.

This is expected to result in tens of thousands more raids, arrests, and removal of people who are not entitled to be in the UK.