UK helps trap kingpin of people smugglers
Trafficker laughed at fatal overloading of boats crossing the Med but now he faces justice in Italy
One of the world’s most wanted people smugglers, thought to be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of migrants in the Mediterranean, has been arrested after an operation involving the National Crime Agency and GCHQ. Mered Medhanie, nicknamed “The General”, was tracked to a hideout in Khartoum, Sudan. The 35-year-old Eritrean, who styled himself on Col Gaddafi is believed to be the head of a smuggling network responsible for the deaths of at least 359 migrants who died when their boat sank off Lampedusa in 2013.
HUNKERED down in his Sudanese hideout almost 2,000 miles from mainland Europe, people smuggler Mered Medhanie must have thought he was untouchable.
Known as The General, the 35-yearold, who modelled himself on former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, was already planning his retirement to Sweden with the millions he had amassed.
But the deaths of more than 359 migrants, who perished in the Mediterranean in 2013 when their boat caught fire and sank, led to a determined international effort to bring him to justice.
After months of surveillance work led by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) Medhanie was eventually tracked down to an anonymous compound in the El Diem area of Khartoum.
Two weeks ago, with the support of British operatives on the ground, the local Sudanese police raided the property and arrested him on suspicion of trafficking tens of thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa into Europe.
Medhanie, who was born in Eritrea, was yesterday extradited to Italy where he is expected to stand trial and could face 30 years in prison if convicted.
Sicilian prosecutor Calogero Ferrara said last year that Medhanie was opportunistic, purchasing kidnapped migrants from other criminals in Africa.
By his calculations, each boat trip of 600 people made the smugglers between $800,000 and $1 million before costs.
Despite the fact Medhanie operated between North Africa and Italy, it was the British authorities that took the lead in efforts to bring him to justice.
Following the Lampedusa tragedy three years ago, the Italian authorities identified Medhanie as a kingpin in the trade. Using telephone interception, Italian investigators were able to show he was a key figure in moving people by land to Libyan ports where they would embark on perilous and sometimes deadly journeys across the sea.
During one recorded phone call, he could be heard laughing about the fatal overloading of migrant ships.
He was recorded saying: “(The migrants) say I put too many people on board the boats, but it is they who are so keen to get going … my style is like Gaddafi, nobody can be more powerful than me.”
Medhanie and other traffickers were also overheard discussing the best place to invest the money they had amassed, suggesting countries as far afield as Israel, Switzerland, Canada and the United States.
In April last year the Italian authorities issued a warrant for his arrest accusing him and 23 others of people trafficking and aiding illegal immigration.
However, with Medhanie in hiding in East Africa, there appeared little chance of bringing him to justice. The following month investigators from the NCA then offered to help the Italian authorities track and locate him. For months they monitored his social media, email and phone use before narrowing down his whereabouts to Sudan.
With the assistance of experts from GCHQ, the government’s listening station, they were able to pinpoint Medhanie to an exact location in the El Diem quarter of the city.
Tom Dowdall, NCA deputy director, said while Medhanie was operating between North Africa and Italy, the problem was an international one that had to be tackled by all countries. He said: “Medhanie…has absolute disregard for human life. Although he was operating thousands of miles away, his criminal activity was impacting the UK.”
A spokesman for the Italian police said: “The operation represents a fundamental turning point in the fight against people traffickers.”
While Medhanie has been arrested on suspicion of people trafficking it has emerged that he could also face homicide charges in Italy over the deaths of hundreds of migrants.
‘The migrants say I put too many people on board boats but it is they who are so keen to get going’