UK, Iraq sign security pact to target people-smuggling gangs

The UK government said on Thursday that it had signed a security pact with Iraq to target people-smuggling gangs and strengthen border co-operation, the latest in its efforts to crack down on illegal migration, Reuters has reported.

“There are smuggler gangs profiting from dangerous small boat crossings whose operations stretch back through Northern France, Germany, across Europe, to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and beyond,” said Britain’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper during a visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. “Organised criminals operate across borders, so law enforcement needs to operate across borders too.”

The UK will also support Iraqi law enforcement to tackle other serious organised crime, including countering narcotics, added Cooper.

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