AN Accrington man has been arrested on suspicion of being part of an international people-trafficking gang.
The 39-year-old was one of three men arrested yesterday following a two-year investigation by the National Crime Squad (NCS).
Police believe they have been working for Malaysian gangsters to smuggle hundreds of illegal immigrants into the UK.
Chinese men and Malaysian women are thought to have been sent to Chinese restaurants and fast food outlets in Britain's major cities.
A NCS spokesman said: "We suspect the illegal immigrants answered adverts in Malaysian newspapers offering employment and have paid large sums of money to facilitate their travel.
"They continued to be financially liable to these people once they had been put to work."
Officers believe the gang used Kuala Lumpur airport to fly people to Heathrow or Manchester.
The spokesman added: "Although there may have been between three and 24 arriving on any one flight, they often split up into smaller groups until they got safely through immigration.
"Many of the illegal immigrants have been sent to work in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle, as well as in Wales and Scotland. Over 30 people have already been deported."
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