Ethiopian Federal Police have arrested Yitbarek Dawit, known as Kibrom, a notorious human trafficker sought at the international level, along with his accomplices in Shire town, Tigray region. The suspect smuggled over 3,000 people illegally, leading to more than 100 deaths and over 50 rapes. Police conducted an operational investigation and handed him over to the judiciary.
Ethiopian Federal Police arrested Yitbarek Dawit, alias Kibrom, along with nine accomplices following a joint information-sharing effort with the Regional Operational Centre in support of the Khartoum process (ROCK).
The suspect, listed in his passport as Yitbarek Dawit Alem, was given the name Paulos Dawit Welday by his family in childhood. Police confirmed his use of aliases such as Adhanom Sudan, Ahmed Somalia Jibouti, and Kenya, as well as Kibrom in Sweden and other European countries.
Using investigative technology, police tracked and arrested over 70 key traffickers domestically and abroad, leading to the recent custody of 10 human traffickers including the main suspect. Authorities seized the group's assets and froze bank accounts through court orders, while collecting statements from over 100 victims and their families.
The network, active since 2010, recruited migrants from Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, and Somalia, directing them to five ransom centers in Libya where over 3 billion birr was extorted. Police located 16 hostages in Libya, Sudan, Belgium, England, Canada, Norway, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.