A MAN from Welling was among six charged as police arrested 19 people in connection with an international people smuggling racket.

Ramazan Zorlu, aged 43, of Bellegrove Road, appeared at Croydon Magistrates' Court last Thursday.

All six men were charged with conspiracy to facilitate illegal entry into the UK and one charge of money laundering. They were all remanded in custody.

Zorlu was arrested at a large semi-detached house in Welling during a series of co-ordinated dawn raids across London on October 11.

Arrested with him were a woman, aged 44, suspected of interfering with the police inquiry and an 18-year-old youth on suspicion of money laundering.

Both were later bailed, to return next month, pending further inquiries.

The 19 arrests were the culmination of a two-year international investigation, code-named Operation Bluesky, looking at a criminal, people smuggling network across Europe.

Police believe large numbers of illegal immigrants, predominantly thought to be Turkish Kurds, have been smuggled into the UK through a variety of methods, from ports in Holland, Italy, France and Belgium.

They are believed to have paid between £3,000 and £5,000 to get into Britain, undertaking journeys which often take months, as they are passed from one gang member to another across several different countries.

Once in Britain they usually disappear, taking black market low-paid menial jobs.

Detective Chief Superintendent Bill Skelly, who led the operation, said it had been the biggest operation of its kind the Met Police had been involved in so far.