Tackling Illegal Organized Immigration Crime in the UK

The rise of organized immigration crime in the UK poses a significant threat to both national security and human rights. Driven by complex criminal networks, this form of illicit activity enables human trafficking, forced labor, and modern slavery, exploiting vulnerable individuals in search of a better and safer life.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has highlighted the growing challenge of illegal immigration crime, noting that it is often facilitated by sophisticated, cross-border criminal networks operating with impunity. As these networks continue to evolve, the need for law enforcement and regulatory bodies to move from traditional risk management approaches to decision intelligence has never been more pressing.

The UK Government's recent announcement to establish and significantly invest in a new Border Security Command aims to tackle this issue at its core by enhancing coordination between agencies like the NCA, Border Force, and Europol, and introducing stronger counter-terrorism-style powers to disrupt these criminal networks.

The scale of the problem

Organized immigration crime is vast and growing. As with many jurisdictions and countries, the UK government’s statistics reveal an increase in illegal migration. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, according to UK Government statistics, 6,265 small boat arrivals compared to 5,049 in the same period last year–an increase of 24%. Behind these numbers lie individuals who are often exploited through forced labor, sexual exploitation, and other forms of modern slavery. These crimes are not only humanitarian crises but also significant risks to public safety and national security.

According to the NCA, organized immigration crime groups often use fraudulent documents, exploit weaknesses in the asylum system, and manipulate vulnerable people for financial gain. These networks, which can operate across multiple jurisdictions, often go undetected due to the complexities of modern supply chains, weak intelligence sharing, and fragmented data across borders.

Moving from risk management to decision intelligence

Traditionally, risk management within immigration crime has focused on identifying potential threats and mitigating them based on past behaviors or known criminal patterns. However, the evolving landscape of organized immigration-linked crime, combined with the rapid pace of technological advancements, requires a shift toward decision intelligence.

Decision intelligence allows organizations to integrate vast amounts of data from diverse and siloed sources, turning it into actionable insights and intelligence that allow government agencies to take faster, more effective, and informed action.

A critical component of tackling organized immigration crime is the ability to identify and understand the frequently hidden relationships between individuals, groups, and entities. Organized crime networks rely on a complex web of connections, often using legitimate businesses as fronts or facilitating illegal activities through seemingly unrelated actors. Traditional risk management systems can struggle to detect these hidden relationships.

Quantexa’s Decision Intelligence Platform, powered by Entity Resolution Graph Analytics, enables customs, law enforcement, and immigration services to create a single, cohesive view of people, places, and organizations, even when information is incomplete or fragmented across multiple data sources. By linking data points that would otherwise remain disconnected, authorities can identify suspicious patterns, track criminal activity, and detect anomalies within vast networks.

For example, by using graph analytics, law enforcement agencies can detect key players in smuggling rings, trace the flow of illicit funds, and uncover front companies that may be used to launder money or facilitate human trafficking. This technology provides a more comprehensive understanding of the criminal ecosystem, allowing authorities to intervene earlier and more effectively.

In addition to identifying criminal networks, decision intelligence enhances the speed and accuracy of decision-making. Traditional immigration and customs processes often involve manual assessments that are time-consuming and prone to error. In cases where individuals are fleeing persecution or trafficking, delays can have serious humanitarian consequences.

Through risk-based application triage and prioritization, Quantexa’s Decision Intelligence Platform can help immigration authorities quickly assess which cases require immediate attention, allocating resources where they are needed most. This improves the efficiency of refugee identification, ensuring that those who are most vulnerable receive the support they need without unnecessary delays.

By automating low-risk decisions, authorities can focus on high-risk cases that demand more intensive investigation. This streamlined approach reduces bottlenecks in the immigration system and allows law enforcement to better target their efforts toward combating organized criminality.

Addressing forced labor and modern slavery

One of the most harmful consequences of organized immigration crime is the exploitation of individuals through forced labor and modern slavery. Trafficking victims are often coerced into working in industries such as agriculture, construction, and domestic services, with little hope of escape. This illegal activity not only violates basic human rights but also damages the integrity of supply chains and creates significant reputational risks for businesses.

For example, through the application of Entity Resolution and Graph Analytics, the below example identifies a range of forced labor and modern slavery risk indicators that suggest this construction project is undertaking labor exploitation using migrant workers.

This network is based on the following sample industry red flags run across a resolved dataset that combines the financial institution’s data with external third-party data to find and score hidden connections and behaviors:

• Construction projects that outsource labor supply agencies rather than directly employing workers, giving limited oversight to the contracts that those workers have with the agency employing them

• Construction agencies that recruit high volumes of migrant workers

• Many workers are housed in one location and driven each day to and from the construction site

Furthermore, law enforcement agencies can use these insights to more easily see the fully connected picture, supporting an intelligence-led approach to target and dismantle the criminal networks that perpetuate and benefit from illicit activities, including forced labor.

The path forward

While decision intelligence offers significant advantages, challenges remain. The NCA has stressed the need for better coordination between international agencies, improved intelligence sharing, and stronger legislative frameworks to combat organized immigration crime effectively. Criminals are quick to adapt, exploiting gaps in enforcement or finding new ways to circumvent regulations.

In response to these challenges, Quantexa is committed to providing solutions that enhance collaboration between governments, law enforcement, and the private sector. Our technology enables agencies to share data more effectively while maintaining privacy and compliance standards, allowing for a more unified approach to fighting illegal immigration and modern slavery.

The fight against organized immigration crime requires more than just incremental improvements in risk management. By adopting decision intelligence, the UK government, law enforcement, and businesses can better identify threats, allocate resources more effectively, and protect vulnerable individuals from exploitation. Quantexa’s innovative technology—rooted in Entity Resolution and Graph Analytics—empowers agencies to detect and disrupt criminal networks faster, improving outcomes for both national security and human rights.

As we face the ongoing challenges of illegal immigration, human trafficking, and forced labor, a shift toward decision intelligence is not just an opportunity—it's a necessity for ensuring that we stay ahead of the evolving criminal landscape.

Find out more by speaking with our financial crime and government experts.