UK Announces Plans to Crack Down on Drug Trafficking Criminals

The United Kingdom wants to make it very obvious that they do not want drug traffickers to look for refuge or opportunities within their borders. According to a report in The Gov Monitor, Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas has confirmed the UKBA as one of the country’s largest law enforcement bodies.

Speaking at the European Serious Organized Crime conference, Woolas made it clear that migrants coming to the UK enter into a deal to play by the rules. Those overseas criminals who break the pact and cause damage to local communities will face the full wrath of the UKBA officers, who will use immigration powers to tackle them.

Phil Woolas said, as quoted in The Gov Monitor, “Smugglers, forgers, traffickers be warned – the UK is a hostile environment. You will be targeted, you will be caught and immigration powers can and will be used to prosecute you and remove you from the country.

“The UK Border Agency is responding to local community needs as a law enforcement agency. Our borders are stronger than ever and frontline immigration staff work collaboratively with police, local authorities and government agencies to target and disband immigration crime that preys on vulnerable individuals.”

The UKBA has a five-year strategy: ‘Protecting our Border, Protecting the Public’. This strategy sets out the organization’s approach at home and abroad to prevent crime as well as detect and target criminals who seek to abuse the immigration system.

Actions taken include electronic e-border checks; a freight targeting system; the provision of detection technology and training to other countries; UKBA officers stationed around the world; the joining of the fraud prevention agency CIFAS; identifying potential victims of trafficking; and seizing illicit drugs, dangerous weapons and pirated goods.