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An Eritrean national considered one of the “most wanted” human traffickers in the world has been arrested in Sudan after an international investigation led by the United Arab Emirates, Interpol said Thursday.
France-based police officials said in an online statement that the suspect, identified as Kidane Zecharias Habtemariam, leads a criminal gang that kidnaps, extorts and kills East African migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean from Libya. He said he was charged with a crime.
A statement from the UAE Interior Ministry said he was arrested on Sunday in a “massive international police operation led by the United Arab Emirates, based on information shared through Interpol.”
The breakthrough in the manhunt came after UAE authorities began tracking the Habtemariam organization and members of their families closely, uncovering a money-laundering pattern that led them to Sudan, the agency said. Interpol began monitoring Habtemariam activity in 2019.
Habtemariam was the subject of two Interpol red notices, one from Ethiopia and one from the Netherlands, the agency said. Dutch authorities have accused Habtemariam of running camps in Libya that house thousands of migrants.
Habtemariam was convicted in absentia and sentenced to life in prison after escaping custody in Ethiopia where he was charged with smuggling in 2020.
Libya has emerged in recent years as a major transit point for migrants seeking a better quality of life in Europe.
The oil-rich country was thrown into turmoil after NATO-backed riots that overthrew and killed longtime tyrant Colonel Moammar Gaddafi in 2011. Traffickers are profiting from Libya’s unrest, smuggling migrants across six long borders.
The international operation lasted nine months and involved authorities in the Netherlands, Ethiopia and Sudan, Interpol said, according to a tweet posted by UAE Interior Minister Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“Thanks to the professionalism and dedication of our police officers, the world’s most wanted traffickers will no longer be able to commit despicable acts,” said the director of the UAE’s Federal Anti-Narcotics Directorate. Said Abdullah Al Suwaidi said. Another statement cited by Interpol.
Sudan police did not respond to requests for comment.
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