United Kingdom, Iraq partner to combat cross-border smuggling networks

The United Kingdom and Iraq have signed a security pact aimed at dismantling people-smuggling gangs and bolstering border cooperation, Britain announced on Thursday.

“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 UK Interior Minister Yvette Cooper in a statement during her visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

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Highlighting the need for international collaboration, Cooper added, “Organized criminals operate across borders, so law enforcement needs to operate across borders too.”

The agreement also extends British support to Iraqi law enforcement in combating other forms of organized crime, including drug trafficking. The initiative marks the latest step in the UK’s efforts to curb illegal migration and dismantle the networks fueling it.