Suspected people smuggler arrested in joint British and Belgian operation
A suspected people smuggler was arrested as part of a joint operation between British and Belgian police.
Ukrainian national Marian Shkirko, 33, is suspected of having a leading role in the smuggling of people in return for money into the UK, via Belgium, using complicit drivers and false documentation.
The Belgian authorities also want to speak to him in relation to the murder of a Lithuanian lorry driver whose body was found in Waasmunster, Belgium, in May 2015.
The joint operation with UK's Organised Immigration Crime Taskforce and the Belgian Federal police saw Shkirko arrested on Friday in Battersea, south west London, as well as a number of people in Belgium.
Shkirko will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday where extradition proceedings will begin.
