Illegal migrants to be used as ‘whistle-blowers’ to convict traffickers

National Crime Agency to offer more lenient treatment to immigration offenders who help jail smugglers

italy migration
(Image credit: Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)

The National Crime Agency (NCA) is hoping to turn illegal immigrants into “whistle-blowers” by offering to handle immigration offences “more sensitively” for those who help police.

Rob Richardson, the head of the organisation’s human trafficking unit, told The Times that prosecutions are difficult to secure unless victims go on the record. But NCA bosses hope to achieve more arrests and convictions by giving illegal workers the chance to improve their odds of being able to stay in the UK if they speak out.

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