Immigration Enforcement made 49 arrests in three days as part of Operation Comby, a crackdown on human smuggling from the Republic of Ireland to the UK. The operation ran across Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales between September 22 and 24, with patrols focused on ports, roads and rail networks.
The Home Office said Operation Comby has now led to over 250 organised criminals and immigration offenders being arrested since July 2024. It also said 113 of those arrested have been removed, while the wider operation has seen the seizure of almost half a million pounds in cash.
Belfast International Airport arrests
During the operation, two Romanian women were arrested at Belfast International Airport as illegal entrants to the UK after travelling from Ireland to Northern Ireland without required permissions. The Home Office said further checks identified them as possible victims of people trafficking, and that intelligence was gained on the criminals who pushed them into the journey.
One of the two women was detained for removal back to Romania. The other returned voluntarily back to Ireland. For people moving through the Common Travel Area, the case shows how a journey that can look routine can become a border enforcement case once officers connect movement, identity and the wider smuggling route.
Belfast Port vehicle stop
Following intelligence sharing, Belfast Harbour Police stopped a vehicle at Belfast Port carrying four Romanian nationals. Searches of the vehicle found £130,000 worth of counterfeit Apple products, and all four people were arrested and now face removal from the UK.
Operation Gull continues to provide routine deployments across Northern Irish ports and airports, and it led to almost 1,000 arrests in the last year. That gives Operation Comby a wider enforcement frame: one operation targets the smuggling route itself, while the other keeps pressure on the ports and airports where movement into Northern Ireland is most exposed.
Anna Turley and Operation Comby
Anna Turley, the Minister for Border Security and Asylum, is the key political figure attached to the response. The operation is presented as a crackdown on criminal gangs, yet two of the people arrested at Belfast International Airport were also identified as possible victims of people trafficking, a reminder that enforcement teams often meet both facilitators and exploited travellers in the same movement stream.
For travellers and operators using Northern Ireland routes, the immediate effect is sharper scrutiny at ports, roads and rail links under Operation Comby and Operation Gull. The next step already in motion is removal for the people arrested, with intelligence from the Belfast International Airport arrests feeding into the search for the criminals behind the journey.
