Police arrest multimillion-dollar human trafficker who smuggled thousands, including Somali migrants

Friday April 10, 2026

Ethiopian police say Yetbarek Dawit, who is yet to comment on the allegations, was wanted in various countries

Mogadishu (AX) — Ethiopian authorities say they have arrested a man accused of running a trafficking ring that moved thousands of migrants, including Somalis, into Libya over a number of years, where many were allegedly tortured, abused and held for ransom.

Federal police named the suspect as Yetbarek Dawit, saying he directed a cross-border operation that smuggled more than 3,000 people from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Sudan into Libya since 2018. He was detained in Shire, a town in northern Tigray, together with nine alleged accomplices.

He has not yet been formally charged in court.

Police say Yetbarek is believed to have run five detention centers in Libya, where migrants were confined and mistreated as their families were pressured to send more money. Investigators say the network is tied to the deaths of more than 100 people and the sexual abuse of at least 50 women.

Authorities allege that detainees were forced to call relatives and demand payment. Those who could not raise the money reportedly faced brutal abuse, including beatings with rubber strips and electric cables, shackling and starvation. Some victims said molten plastic was poured on their bodies. Women were allegedly sexually assaulted and left with severe physical and psychological trauma.

The arrests came after a wide-ranging cross-border investigation led through the Regional Operational Centre (ROC), an EU-funded effort aimed at dismantling trafficking networks in East Africa. More than 100 victims and relatives in Ethiopia, Libya, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada provided testimony during the probe.

Police said Yetbarek was known across several countries and used a range of aliases, including “Adhanom” in Sudan, “Ahmed” in Djibouti and Somalia, “Munir” in Kenya and “Kibrom” in Sweden and other European countries. Officials said advanced surveillance and financial-tracking tools were used to trace and identify him. Bank accounts tied to the network have been frozen and assets seized.

Investigators estimate the group brought in more than $19 million through its activities.

Thousands of Somali migrants remain stranded in Libya, exposed to serious danger along the Central Mediterranean migration route, which ranks among the world’s most perilous. Those who try to reach Europe often run into trafficking networks, armed groups and detention facilities where abuse is widespread.

The suspects were moved to Addis Ababa earlier this week for further investigation.

In April 2025, Somalia’s Banadir Regional Court sentenced six people convicted of operating a human trafficking network. Two of the defendants received two-year prison terms and were ordered to pay compensation to the families of four women who died during the trafficking operation. Four others were handed six-month sentences for their roles in the scheme.

Governments across the Horn of Africa continue to come under pressure to curb irregular migration and crack down on criminal networks that prey on vulnerable people trying to make the journey to Europe.