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Two men arrested as part of a National Crime Agency investigation into illegal people smuggling have denied the charges.

Dilshad Shamo, 41, from Castell Morgraig, Caerphilly, and Ali Khdir, 42, from Pontygwindy Road, Caerphilly, have been charged with assisting unlawful immigration.

They appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday March 25. They will face trial later this year.

According to the National Crime Agency, they are alleged to have operated a people smuggling organisation from the UK which illegally moved 500 migrants through Europe.

They are accused of trafficking migrants via boats, HGVs and cars from Iraq, Iran and Syria through the EU to Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Germany and France.

The NCA said the final destination for many of these migrants was the UK.

Both Shamo and Khdir are alleged to have worked as part of a wider organised crime group.

The men were initially arrested in April 2023 at a hand car wash on Pontygwindy Road and charged after answering bail on Sunday February 18.