A major human trafficking ringleader, sentenced to life in prison in absentia, has been arrested by Interpol in Sudan, media report.
"Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam was the subject of two INTERPOL Red Notices, by Ethiopia and the Netherlands, for migrant smuggling, human trafficking and other related crimes," Interpol stated, noting that the criminal was "wanted for heading a major criminal organization behind the kidnapping, extortion and murder of East African migrants."
Habtemariam, an Eritrean national, was detained thanks to quick action by officers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and extensive international cooperation, established in March 2022 to combat human trafficking in the region.
"In March 2022, intelligence gathered by INTERPOL’s Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants unit prompted a task force meeting with participants from Ethiopia, Sudan, the Netherlands, the UAE, Europol and the Regional Operational Centre in support of the Khartoum process and the African Union Horn of Africa Initiative (ROCK)," Interpol's statement reads.
According to the UAE Ministry of Interior, Habtemariam's arrest will disrupt one of the major people smuggling routes to Europe.
The criminal, described by Dutch police as one of the world's "most notorious and cruelest people smugglers," had been receiving Interpol's attention since 2019 and was arrested in Ethiopia in 2020, after a victim recognized him in the street. Later, Habtemariam managed to escape from the court, suspectedly bribing local police officers.
As noted by Stephen Kavanagh, the executive director of Interpol police services, the human trafficker travelled across Africa under false identities, "continuing to think he was above the law." Now that he is detained, Habtemariam's criminal network is the main concern of the police.
"This is much more than one individual, this is about the network around him that uses women, children and innocent individuals as a commodity," he underlined.