One of the notorious migrant smugglers based in Iranian Kurdistan was arrested by local authorities, just a few days after BBC’s report on his activities.
Barzan Majid, known by the alias “Scorpion,” was arrested Sunday morning outside his home, as reported by the British network.
Majid’s network had brought thousands of people to Europe, under dire conditions and after each had paid substantial sums. Many hundreds had crossed the English Channel in boats or hidden in trucks. In other instances, he had led them from Turkey to Greece.
Last week, two BBC journalists had located him in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. He admitted to transporting thousands of migrants to the Channel: “Maybe a thousand, maybe 10,000. I don’t know, I didn’t count,” he said.
He seemed indifferent to the victims, saying, “It’s written by God when you’ll die, but God doesn’t tell you ‘get in the boat.'”
A member of the Kurdistan regional government stated that officials were able to use the BBC’s findings to locate Majid. They are even considering interrogating him, with officials from European countries possibly involved.
Despite European countries’ efforts to dismantle the “Scorpion” network, he remained elusive. Before the BBC interview, his exact whereabouts were unknown.
For BBC journalists Sue Mitchell and Ben Milne, meeting “Scorpion” seemed unthinkable just a few months earlier, as they explain in their extensive article.
For several years, he and his gang had nearly complete control over human trafficking, using trucks and boats along the Channel.
Overall, more than 70 migrants have lost their lives crossing this route since 2018. Last month, five people drowned off the French coast, including a seven-year-old girl.
Only on March 6 of this year, 60 migrants managed to cross the Channel on a small boat.
As the British network comments, tens of thousands of migrants attempt to cross the Channel every year.
It’s a perilous journey, but for those involved in human trafficking, it can be quite lucrative. They can charge £6,000 per person (about €7,000) for passage on a boat. Considering nearly 30,000 people attempted this journey in 2023, we can get a glimpse of their profits.
According to BBC journalists, the “Scorpion” lately was focused in trafficking migrants from Turkey to Greece and Italy.
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