A man has been remanded in custody accused of being part of a cross-border plan to smuggle a family from Afghanistan into the UK from Ireland.
Ibadullah Alimi appeared at Belfast Magistrates' Court following his arrest at Grand Central Station in the city earlier this week.
UK National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators said the 25-year-old had arrived by train from Dublin with five other Afghan nationals.
The five - a couple, their two young children and another man - were believed to be trying to enter the UK illegally via the Common Travel Area.
Mr Alimi, with an address at Alum Rock Road, Birmingham in England, faces one charge of assisting unlawful immigration.
An NCA officer told the court that she could connect him to the alleged offence.
Defence solicitor Shane O’Neill confirmed that his client understood the charge but did not seek bail during the brief hearing.
Adjourning the case, District Judge Steven Keown remanded the accused in custody to appear in court again on Friday 19 December.
Mr Alimi, who had been living in Dublin, was identified by UK Home Office Immigration Enforcement officers at the station as a suspected facilitator, according to the NCA.
The family was said to have travelled from France to Ireland before boarding a train to Belfast.
Investigators believe they intended to travel onwards to England but have been handed to immigration authorities.
