Cross-border cooperation involving the Royal Gibraltar Police, Borders & Coastguard Agency and the Policía Nacional has led to the arrest of a people-trafficking gang operating in the Costa del Sol. They employed fraudulent methods to mislead immigration officials in Spain, Gibraltar and the United Kingdom. Last month two Albanian men flew from Gibraltar to Luton and attempted to enter Britain using forged Italian ID cards, but Aurelt Kasa and Eltjon Islami - both in their early 20s - were sent back to the Rock after UK Border Force Immigration detected that they were using forged ID cards. They were arrested on arrival and are currently being held on remand at HMP Windmill Hill awaiting deportation. These arrests sparked off an investigation which led to the identification of a third individual suspected to be a facilitator and important member of the criminal group. A process of information exchange, surveillance and close liaison then began with Spain’s national police with responsibility for Immigration – the ‘Cuerpo Nacional de Policia, Seccion de Extrangeria’. Another two Albanian subjects were detected in separate instances by RGP/BCA officers a few days later, carrying similar false identification documents and trying to use Gibraltar as a platform to reach the UK. On Wednesday 17 June , following a lengthy and co-ordinated surveillance operation, a further two Albanian nationals were intercepted and arrested by the Spanish Police, foiling their plans to board a plane in Gibraltar to the UK. The facilitator, a German national of Romanian origin who was identified in the first instance by the Gibraltar authorities, was also arrested. Acting Commissioner of Police Ian McGrail said, ‘What a great example of cross border police co-operation this has been