The National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK revealed on Thursday that it has arrested an Egyptian man suspected of coordinating the smuggling of thousands of people from North Africa to Italy across the Mediterranean Sea.
The agency believes that the 40-year-old man, who was arrested in London on Wednesday, is working with human trafficking networks in North Africa to organize boat trips for migrants and communicate with his criminal partners during the crossings.
Darren Barr, the agency’s senior investigation officer, stated: "We suspect that this man was running his operation from the UK and orchestrating the smuggling of thousands of migrants."
He added: "The types of boats used by organized crime groups to transport migrants are death traps; we will continue to share intelligence and take action with partners to prevent crossings and arrest human traffickers both here and abroad."
The agency, which is working with the Italian financial police as part of the investigation, cited a crossing that occurred in October of last year where Italian authorities rescued more than 640 migrants attempting to cross from Libya on a wooden boat.
The agency also noted that the Italian Coast Guard rescued another 265 migrants from a 20-meter fishing boat found adrift in the Mediterranean after losing its way following departure from Libya, and two search and rescue operations in April, which followed distress calls to the Coast Guard, rescued more than 600 migrants on each boat.
