Police have arrested more than 20 people around in a huge operation to tackle a Kurdish gang smuggling hundreds of illegal immigrants into the UK for up to £10,000-a-time.

More than 300 officers coordinated by the National Crime Agency, often called 'Britain's FBI', raided properties in Northumbria, Cleveland, Sussex and London this morning and arrested suspected traffickers.

Officers at a briefing at Cleveland Police's HQ in Middlesbrough were told they were looking to arrest two specific men in Teesside, thought to be ringleaders.

A man is arrested in North East England this morning as part of anti-people smuggling raids

It is thought hundreds of Iraqi Kurds, men, women and children, have been brought into the UK by the gang, paying up to £10,000 each.

Many were brought on lorries travelling through the Channel Tunnel, while other trucks were driven onto ferries.

At least 16 people were arrested on Teesside, two in London, two in Hastings, Sussex and one in Northumbria. All of those detained have been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences and money laundering.

Senior Investigating Officer Mark Spoors said all of the agency's targets had been arrested, adding: 'We believe we have identified and disrupted a significant network which is suspected of smuggling hundreds of migrants into the UK and planned to carry on going.'

A number of car washes were also raided in what is said to be a bid to shut down the gang's money laundering operation.

Immigration Enforcement, HMRC and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority were also involved in the operation, which also used intelligence gathered by French, Belgian and Dutch authorities.

Police targeted around 20 addresses and visited car washes in a bid to shut down the gang

A man is marched to a police van near Middlesbrough this morning as police carried out raids

Properties are being raided in Cleveland, Northumbria, Sussex and London this morning

NCA duputy director Tom Dowdall said: 'We believe we have identified and disrupted a significant network which is suspected of smuggling hundreds of migrants into the UK and planned to carry on going.'

The agency said it was one of the biggest operations it has carried out since it started five years ago.

A spokesman said: 'The NCA is carrying out a major operation targeting a suspected people smuggling organised criminal network in the North East, London and the South Coast.

'The operation is the latest phase of a year-long investigation, which has involved law enforcement colleagues in the UK and in Europe.

'More than twenty properties have been raided by NCA officers supported by Cleveland, Northumbria, Sussex and Metropolitan Police colleagues, and a number of arrests have been made.

'The operation is ongoing with searches taking place at several locations including Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Stockton, Newcastle, Hastings and London. A full update will follow later.'