The government has invested £100 million in border security.

The investment will pay for up to 300 extra National Crime Agency officers (NCA), state-of-the art detection technology and new equipment.

The Border Security Command, the NCA, the police and other law enforcement agency partners will see a cash injection to strengthen investigations targeting smuggling kingpins and disrupt their operations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and beyond.

The money will boost existing law enforcement operations and allow more intelligence to be gathered on organised immigration crime gang members, support upstream capacity building, and purchase sophisticated technology and equipment to strengthen UK border security.

National Crime Agency Director General of Operations Rob Jones said: "The NCA focuses on making the biggest impact on organised crime groups behind these lethal crossings.

"We currently have 91 investigations ongoing into the most dangerous people smuggling networks impacting the UK, and are working with partners at home and abroad to target, disrupt and dismantle them.

"This additional funding will help boost our capacity and capability, enabling us to target more offenders."