Twenty three suspects have been arrested in raids targeting an organised crime gang believed to have smuggled thousands of migrants into Europe, the European Union’s police agency has said.

The Dutch ring-leaders of an audacious operation to bring huge quantities of drugs into the UK using fake ambulances had a run-in with British border officials the day before their arrest but pressed on with their plan.

Audacious Dutch smugglers may have sneaked up to £1.6bn (€2.3bn) worth of cocaine and heroin into the UK using “a fleet” of fake ambulances, a court heard.

Austria said 71 refugees including a baby girl were found dead in an abandoned freezer truck, while Libya recovered the bodies of 82 migrants washed ashore after their overcrowded boat sank on its way to Europe and scores more were feared dead.

Five people have drowned off the Turkish coast, as they tried to reach the Greek islands, officials said.

EU plans to destroy the boats of smugglers bringing desperate migrants across the Mediterranean and share the refugee burden more evenly came under fresh fire last night from within and outside the EU.