TWO IRISH MEN have been charged as part of an investigation into alleged human trafficking.

Wayne Sherlock, 39, and Eoin Nowlan, 48, were arrested in Dover, Kent, following the discovery of 10 people in a lorry carrying tyres near the Belgian city of Ghent.

The 64-year-old driver of the vehicle – originally from Glasgow – was arrested by Belgian authorities and a 30-year-old man in Antrim, Northern Ireland, was also detained.

The driver has been remanded in custody while the man from Northern Ireland was released on bail following questioning by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers.

Sherlock and Nowlan are charged with an alleged conspiracy to facilitate illegal immigration, the NCA said.

The pair were remanded in custody following a hearing at Canterbury Magistrates’ Court in Kent today.

The NCA said the people – believed to be two adults and eight children – are thought to be from south-east Asia.

Two properties in England and Northern Ireland were also searched by NCA officers, with two suspected firearms seized in the Kent raid.

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