Ethiopian police arrest human trafficking kingpin

The Ethiopian Federal Police have announced the arrest of an "internationally wanted and dangerous" human trafficker, who has caused the death of more than 100 people.



In a statement issued on Monday, police said the suspect, identified by his passport name as Ytbarek Dawit Alemu, who is known to use several aliases across his illegal human trafficking network spanning countries such as Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya, and several European nations, is responsible for trafficking more than 3,000 people.



The suspect, who was arrested along with nine accomplices, has caused the death of more than 100 innocent people and the sexual exploitation of more than 50 women, police said.



The main suspect was apprehended in Shire, a town in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia, it was noted.



According to the police's investigation, the group has been illegally recruiting and trafficking thousands of young people since 2018, mainly targeting youth from Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, and Somalia.