A man has become the first person charged with advertising illegal immigration services under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 as part of a National Crime Agency investigation, according to the agency.
Hem Raj, a 24-year-old Indian national, was arrested at an address in Smethwick in the West Midlands on Tuesday 15 September, in an operation run jointly by the NCA and West Midlands Police, and mobile phones were seized at the same time. The arrest followed the discovery of social media posts said to have offered advice on fraudulent visa and asylum applications.
He was charged with advertising illegal immigration services contrary to section 17 of the 2025 Act, and with illegally providing immigration advice in contravention of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. He appeared before Birmingham magistrates on Wednesday 16 September.
Kevin Broadhead, an NCA branch commander, said: “Tackling organised immigration crime remains a top priority for the National Crime Agency, and we are doing all we can to disrupt and dismantle those involved.
“This includes targeting those who facilitate offending using online platforms.”
Advertising offences of this kind are intended to reach a layer of the trade that sits some way from the beach. The person posting the offer is not necessarily the person arranging a crossing, and until the new Act there was no straightforward way to charge the posting itself, which left investigators relying on offences that required proof of a more direct role in facilitation.
Proceedings are active, and nothing may be published that could prejudice a future trial.
