Europe’s most wanted migrant smuggler arrested in Iraq
After two years on the run, Barzan Majeed, regarded as the most sought-after migrant smuggler in Europe, was apprehended in the Kurdistan area of Iraq. Majeed, also known as “The Scorpion,” and his group of human traffickers transported almost 10,000 people over the English Channel in trucks and boats.
The BBC‘s investigation into the absconding human smuggler led to his discovery in the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniya.
“Maybe a thousand, maybe 10,000. I don’t know, I didn’t count,” he told the BBC during a call last month regarding the number of migrants he had trafficked from the city.
According to a top official in the Kurdistan Regional Government, Majeed was found by officials using the information provided by the BBC.
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“It was at 7am this morning that the arrest was made outside his home, they arrested him the moment he stepped out of the home and arrested him without any major problems,” the official said.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom expressed gratitude to the BBC in a series of tweets on Monday, saying that they “remain determined to do all we can to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks” involved in smuggling people to the UK, wherever they operate,” for “highlighting his case.”
The NCA has been informed of the arrest of Barzan Majeed – nicknamed ‘Scorpion’ – in the Kurdish region of Northern Iraq. https://t.co/DMY77IJhiB
— National Crime Agency (NCA) (@NCA_UK) May 13, 2024
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Barzan arrested by Kurdish forces on May 12
Majeed was arrested on May 12 by Kurdish security forces, said the NCA.
Majeed was found thanks to the British broadcaster’s discoveries, a Kurdistan Regional Government official told the BBC.
“The arrest was made outside his home, they arrested him the moment he stepped out of the home and arrested him without any major problems,” the official was quoted as saying to the BBC.
“We are now looking at charges against him here first and foremost, and then we will be discussing with European police and prosecutors who want to question him and deal with him.”
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From 2016 to 2021, Majeed’s gang is thought to have dominated a large portion of the people-smuggling industry between Europe and the UK.
After a two-year international police operation, 26 gang members were apprehended and found guilty in courts in the UK, France, and Belgium.
But Majeed, who escaped capture and was running away, was prosecuted in absentia in a Belgian court and found guilty of 121 charges of smuggling people.
