Ethiopian authorities have arrested the suspected mastermind behind a sprawling human trafficking network accused of smuggling thousands of migrants and subjecting them to severe violence and extortion en route to Europe. The network is accused of killing more than 100 people and sexually assaulting at least 50 women.
The ringleader, identified by the Ethiopian Federal Police as Yitbarek Dawit, was apprehended alongside nine accomplices. Investigators say the criminal syndicate has been operating since 2018 and is responsible for smuggling more than 3,000 young people from across East Africa, explicitly targeting victims in Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, and Somalia.
Migrants were systematically transported to detention centers in Libya—a notorious and perilous transit hub for those attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea. Once there, they were held captive and tortured to extract ransom payments from their desperate families. Authorities noted that these grim details have been corroborated by testimonies from over 100 survivors and their relatives.
The arrests are part of a sweeping, nationwide crackdown on human smuggling operations. Ethiopian authorities have so far identified more than 70 suspected traffickers and successfully tracked down 10 individuals, including Dawit.
The suspected traffickers have been formally transferred to the Ethiopian Justice Ministry to face prosecution, according to the state-run Ethiopian News Agency.
