The United Kingdom will on Monday announce an additional £75 million to boost border security, while bringing investment in the Border Security Command over the next two years to £150 million.
UK Prime Minister, Kier Starmer to make the announcement in marking the first time the INTERPOL General Assembly hosted in the United Kingdom in over 50 years.
According to the statement released on Sunday, the PM will open the Assembly in Glasgow by setting out his personal mission to smash people smuggling gangs, resetting the UK’s whole approach to this challenge and intensifying international collaboration to meet the global scale of the threat.
In his speech, the Prime Minister will set out his plans to draw on his experience of bringing together agencies to tackle international terrorist and drug smuggling gangs during his time as Director of Public Prosecutions to dismantle the people smuggling gangs who drive illegal migration, profit from human misery and represent a serious threat to global security.
He will also set out how the £150 million will provide additional specialist investigators and state of the art surveillance equipment to ensure those behind this criminal activity are stopped and brought to justice.
This major funding boost for the government’s new Border Security Command will initially be directed towards a range of enforcement and intelligence activity, including:
300 staff for the new Border Security Command, who will strengthen global partnerships, deliver new legislation and lead the system through investment and strategy.
100 specialist investigators and intelligence officers for the NCA, dedicated to tackling criminals who facilitate people smuggling.
Creating a new specialist OIC Intelligence Source Unit which will cohere intelligence flows from key police forces.
Boosting the Crown Prosecution Service’s ability to deliver charging decisions more quickly on international organised crime cases.
New measures will make it easier to detect, disrupt and deter those seeking to engage in and benefit from organised immigration crime. The Command will also coordinate the work of intelligence agencies and law enforcement, who lead joint investigations with European counterparts to ensure we can bring those responsible to justice.
The Prime Minister will also announce that the Government has increased its in-year support for INTERPOL’s global operations via a £6 million investment which harnesses the organisation’s unique capabilities to tackle serious organised crime affecting the country.
Addressing the General Assembly, Starmer to say that closer cooperation with international partners is key as he details how the gangs’ operations span from the money markets in Kabul through to the Kurdish region of Iraq and right across Europe and into the UK.
He will stress the government’s ongoing commitment to strengthening security agreements to facilitate greater sharing of intelligence and more joint operational work, in particular through Europol.
The Home Office will also invest £24m in the new financial year to tackle international serious organised crime affecting the UK including drugs and firearms, fraud, trafficking and exploitation.
Funds will in part be used to bolster work done by special prosecutors and operational partners in the Western Balkans. There were more than 5,000 drug related deaths in 2023, with most of the illegal drugs causing these coming from overseas or facilitated by transnational gangs.
ISOC funding will also be used to tackle drug smuggling upstream and at the UK border, building on recent successes, such as the effective collaboration with the United States and Ecuador, which has resulted in the seizure of 19 tonnes of cocaine.