A POLICE operation was carried out on the M5 motorway near Wellington on Tuesday morning (November 10) which saw a number of suspected illegal migrants arrested.

A vehicle was stopped by police on the northbound carriageway near the Devon-Somerset border just before junction 26 at about 11 am.

The incident brought northbound traffic to a halt and motorists could see police officers with several men who appeared to be foreign nationals standing at the side of the motorway in handcuffs.

One witness said on social media it appeared to have been a police tactical pursuit and containment operation where a vehicle is boxed in and forced to stop.

The men were suspected of being smuggled into the UK through a port in Cornwall before being picked up and driven the 120 miles north via the motorway until they were stopped.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson said a suspicious vessel in Falmouth Harbour had been notified to the authorities shortly before 8 am on Tuesday.

The spokesperson said: “Following a number of inquiries, six men were arrested on the M5 near Tiverton on suspicion of immigration offences.

“They remain in police custody at this time.”

The spokesperson said the constabulary was working closely with Border Force and the National Crime Agency while inquiries continued.