A Salford man - one of two accused of being part of a smuggling network responsible for trafficking up to 20 migrants a NIGHT into the UK - has been arrested.

Shamel Omer Zorab, 33, from Eccles, is one of two Iraqi nationals detained by police following a major operation co-ordinated by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Sleman Basak Ahmed, 37, from Birmingham, was also arrested after being hunted on a European arrest warrant.

Officers from Greater Manchester and West Midlands Police supported the huge operation.

The pair are wanted by police in Belgium and are expected to appear before Westminster Magistrates Court today, where extradition proceedings will begin.

The arrests follow a joint operation involving the NCA and Belgian Federal Police, looking into a Kurdish criminal network suspected of smuggling hundreds of people - up to 20 a night - into the UK in lorries.

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It is thought migrants, including Iraqis, Iranians, Afghans, Indians, Pakistanis and Albanians, are loaded into trucks at motorway service stations in Belgium before attempting to cross the Channel.

The two men arrested in the UK are accused of being in direct contact with other members of the network and collecting fees from migrants successfully smuggled into the country.

Police say ten people have already been arrested in Belgium and await trial there.

NCA branch operations manager, said: “We believe this crime group is involved in attempting to smuggle people into the UK on an almost daily basis, and our co-operation with the Belgian authorities on this investigation continues.

“With our international partners we will continue to disrupt criminals involved in organised immigration crime, making it harder for them to operate across the UK border and abroad.”

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