Ethiopian police arrest alleged leader of multi-million-dollar trafficking ring

What the report says

BBC Africa reports that Ethiopian police say they have detained 17 people, among them Mohammed Tahir, also known as “Wordi,” whom authorities describe as the suspected head of an international human trafficking network. Police allege the group moved more than 40,000 Ethiopians toward Saudi Arabia via Djibouti and Yemen and extracted more than 1 billion Ethiopian birr, reported by the BBC as about $6.1 million, from victims and their families.

According to the BBC, Ethiopian police accuse the alleged network of involvement in the deaths of 60 migrants, sexual abuse of women and torture of Ethiopian migrants held in Yemen. Authorities allege the traffickers operated detention sites there and recorded abuse to pressure relatives in Ethiopia to send money. Tahir and the other suspects have not appeared in court or responded publicly to the accusations, the BBC reported.

Police spokesperson Jeylan Abdi told BBC News Amharic that arrests were made in Addis Ababa and Harar during a 15-day operation. The BBC said police released photographs of the suspects on Tuesday and that investigators have sent the file to the justice ministry, citing police claims that it includes witness statements from Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia as well as documents. Federal police and the justice ministry declined BBC requests for more detail, including information on pleas.

The case comes amid what the BBC describes as an increased Ethiopian government push against human trafficking. The publisher noted that police in April arrested another alleged ring accused of drawing thousands of people toward Libya, with hopes of onward travel to Europe. Yemen’s prolonged conflict and weak rule of law have made migrants especially vulnerable along routes used to reach Gulf countries.