Police have smashed a gang of people traffickers who sneaked Iranian families into Britain using false passports. The criminals charged each adult £16,300 for passage into the UK via Turkey, Greece and Spain. Twenty-two people including the alleged head of the gang have been arrested in an operation involving the UK Border Agency and Spain's National Police. The Iranians were smuggled into the EU through the border between Turkey and Greece, hidden in luggage compartments on buses or in freight lorries. The gang, who referred to the migrants as 'animals', 'herds' or 'sheep', offered discounts for minors and babies were smuggled for free, Spanish police said. All those making the journey to the UK were first taken to the Canary Islands, where they were instructed on what to do when they arrived in Britain. They were ordered to destroy their false passports during the flight and to delay reaching passport control for as long as possible to make it difficult for British officials to discover where they had come from. They were instructed to claim asylum in the UK and to tell British officials they feared for their lives if they were forced to return home to Iran, Spanish police said. Police launched the operation in February after an Iranian was stopped at Tenerife's Reina Sofia airport trying to board a flight to the UK using a fake French passport and identity card. Hidden: In Spain the Iranians were taken to the Canary Islands, especially Tenerife (pictured) The National Police said in a statement today: 'It was established this was not an isolated incident, that there was an organisation specialising in falsifying documents and trafficking people from Iran. 'Early investigations established the criminal organisation had numerous members not just in Spain but also in Iran, Greece, Germany and Sweden. 'Officers were able to identify the head of the organisation, who directed and co-ordinated the people-trafficking operation from Tenerife. More... Execution in the name of art: German students plan to decapitate defenceless lamb live online as part of sick project 'Child sex victims were prostitutes with enough business acumen to win The Apprentice', man at centre of sex gang trial tells court 'Locating him was complicated as he used various different identities, using fake British, Italian and Polish passports.' The group forged passports from Britain, France, Italy, Estonia, Greece and Finland to get the migrants onto flights to the UK. Some Iranians were able to fly directly to Spain using genuine passports and holiday or business visas. The group were planning to use a major international fashion fair in Barcelona this July as cover. The police statement continued: 'Once in Europe, the immigrants were put up in safe houses controlled by the organisation. They stayed in these flats until they had prepared the false documents with which they would finally travel to the UK. 'In Spain they were taken to the Canary Islands, especially Tenerife and Fuerteventura. There they were given instructions on how to act during the final trip to the UK. 'They were ordered to destroy the false passports and to delay as long as possible their arrival at the British police control, in order to make it more difficult to identify them. 'Once in the United Kingdom, they had to obtain legal residence by telling the border police they were terrified that they would suffer persecutions for various reasons in their own country, and they feared for their lives and physical safety.' Thirteen people were arrested in Tenerife, six in Madrid and three in Fuerteventura. Detectives seized 22 false passports including two British, as well as eight false Italian and French identity cards, a false French driving licence, various Iranian passports and forging equipment.
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