UK Immigration Enforcement reported 49 arrests during three days of targeted action at ports, airports, roads and rail networks across Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, according to a Home Office news story published on 29 September 2026. The patrols between Tuesday 22 and Thursday 24 September 2026 aimed to catch people circumventing UK immigration laws.

The Home Office said Operation Comby, a multi-agency effort targeting people who have illegally travelled from Ireland to the UK, has led to more than 250 arrests since the election, with 113 people removed and almost half a million pounds in cash seized. It said the operation aims to stop abuse of the Common Travel Area, which allows British and Irish citizens to move freely between the two countries. Separately, Operation Gull, which covers routine deployments at Northern Irish ports and airports, has led to almost 1,000 arrests in the past year, the department said.

At Belfast International Airport, two Romanian women were arrested as illegal entrants after travelling from Ireland without required permissions, and checks identified them as possible trafficking victims, the Home Office said. At Belfast Port, police stopped a vehicle carrying four Romanian nationals and found £130,000 worth of counterfeit Apple products; all four were arrested and face removal.

The Home Office said Immigration Enforcement conducted almost 3,000 visits in Northern Ireland between July 2024 and June 2026, resulting in over 2,400 arrests, with nearly 1,000 people returned, almost 500 of them to Ireland. It also said the Home Secretary plans to double the Immigration Enforcement budget by 2028/29 and increase workforce numbers by 60%.