UK Cracks Down on Smugglers, Removes 8,000 Social Media Accounts Promoting Illegal Migration Services

The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has intensified efforts to disrupt people-smuggling networks operating on platforms like Meta, X, TikTok, and YouTube. By working closely with these companies, it achieved a 40% rise in account removals last year, taking down over 8,000 accounts promoting illegal migration services. This brings the three-year total to more than 16,500 takedowns.

Illegal posts included false claims of swift boat crossings to the UK, rewards for referring migrants, and sales of fake IDs. Smugglers also used these platforms to lure migrants with promises of transport across Europe, later switching to encrypted apps to avoid detection.

A robust social media action plan introduced in late 2021 has helped the NCA investigate and prosecute offenders. Preston-based Amanj Hasan Zada received a 17-year sentence in 2024 for sharing videos of smuggling success stories. Two others, Dilshad Shamo and Ali Khdir, were found guilty of advertising smuggling services and await sentencing.

The agency is ramping up resources to disrupt these networks, collaborating with platforms to identify and remove harmful content. Tough new UK laws, announced this month, include travel bans, social media restrictions, and phone-use limitations to tackle human smuggling.

In the US, Mexican cartels exploit social media for similar purposes. Cartel del Noreste (CDN) uses Facebook to recruit and coordinate operations, combining smuggling with violent criminal activities. Two high-ranking members were sentenced last year for their roles in leveraging social media to expand their network and evade authorities.

Image: NationalCrimeAgency / UK

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by Asim BN via Digital Information World