Eritrean notorious trafficker arrested in Sudan

NAIROBI, Kenya - A notorious Eritrean trafficker who is wanted in The Netherlands has been arrested in Sudan, two years after Dutch authorities put him on notice over various crimes and could now face extradition to answer charges leveled against him in the European nation.

Prosecutors in the Netherlands are understood to be in the process of requesting Khartoum to extradite him to the country to face prosecution over the alleged trafficking crimes. Zekarias Habtemariam has been linked to the ring behind human trafficking across the world.

The 39-year-old was arrested on Sunday in a police operation against money laundering that was led by the United Arab Emirates, the prosecutors' office said, Reuters reported, in what the Netherlands has termed as the "most significant success".

In 2021, reports indicate, Kidane was sentenced to life in absentia by a court in Ethiopia after his conviction in relation to the torturing of African refugees and migrants who use Libya when crossing to Europe. Ethiopia has also been searching for him.

At the time of trial, Kidane had escaped from court premises in Addis Ababa in February 2021 after nearly a year of trial on eight counts of human trafficking. He was the most sort alleged human trafficker from Africa to Europe according to authorities.

The Dutch public prosecutors in 2021 placed Kidane on the list of the most wanted human traffickers in the world after it emerged that one of his organizations was involved in the abduction, extortion, and rape of Eritreans who were seeking refuge in Holland.

Cases of human trafficking are common in the Horn of Africa where living conditions are deplorable and people often use the advantage to mistreat the vulnerable. It is through this concern that an alarm was raised against Kidane by a number of his victims.

GAROWE ONLINE