Cairo — An Eritrean national, Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam, described as one of “the world’s most wanted” human traffickers, has been arrested in Sudan following an international manhunt led by the United Arab Emirates, Interpol announced Thursday. Habtemariam is accused of leading a criminal organization that abducts, extorts, and murders East African migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Libya, according to Interpol.
Habtemariam’s arrest on Sunday was the result of a major international police operation spearheaded by the UAE, based on Interpol-shared information, the UAE’s Ministry of Interior said in a statement published by The Khaleej Times.
The breakthrough came when UAE authorities tracked Habtemariam’s organization and family, uncovering money laundering patterns that led them to Sudan. Interpol has been monitoring Habtemariam’s activities since 2019.
Habtemariam was the subject of two Interpol red notices from Ethiopia and the Netherlands. Dutch authorities accused him of running a Libyan camp housing thousands of migrants. Convicted in absentia, he was sentenced to life imprisonment after escaping custody in Ethiopia during a 2020 trial for people smuggling.
Libya has become a primary transit point for migrants seeking better lives in Europe, especially after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gadhafi. Human traffickers have exploited the resulting chaos, smuggling migrants across Libya’s extensive borders.
According to UAE Interior Minister Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the nine-month international operation also involved Dutch, Ethiopian, and Sudanese authorities. Saeed Abdullah al-Suwaidi, director of the UAE’s Federal Anti-Narcotics General Directorate, praised the professionalism and dedication of the police officers involved, noting that Habtemariam will no longer be able to commit his crimes.
Sudanese police did not respond to requests for comment.