Call for victims of migrant smuggling from Horn of Africa
The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (KMar) is looking for victims pf migrant smuggling in an investigation into migration crime. The call is aimed at persons who have fled the Horn of Africa and who are trying to reach Europe via Sudan and Libya. The investigation focuses on criminal organizations that have been extorting and brutally abusing migrants on this migration route since 2016.
The Marechaussee is investigating criminal networks surrounding smugglers of migrants via the so-called Central Mediterranean Route (CMR) to Europe. This is the route that migrants from Eritrea, for example, travel when they flee their country.
One of these networks has already been identified in an ongoing criminal investigation. In this investigation, a suspect was extradited from Ethiopia to the Netherlands in 2022. He is now on trial in Zwolle. A co-suspect was arrested in Sudan in early 2023 after an international manhunt. This man, an alleged leader of the organization, is in custody in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Netherlands Public Prosecution Service (OM) has requested his extradition. The two are suspected of participating in a criminal organization that was involved in migrant smuggling, hostage-taking, extortion and violence, including sexual violence. The many victims come from Eritrea.
The new investigation, conducted under the authority of the National Public Prosecution Service, focuses on other networks on the migration route, so that more perpetrators can be brought to justice. Various sources indicate that violence is still high against migrants on their way to Europe, particularly in Sudan and Libya. In these transit countries, thousands of people are locked up in camps and are only allowed to travel further if family members pay large sums. Serious violence is often involved.
In order to gain a better insight into the leaders of these gangs, the Marechaussee is now launching an online campaign with a call for witnesses aimed at people from the Horn of Africa. The investigative team is specifically looking for persons who made the journey to Europe via Sudan and Libya between 2016 and 2024, and who have been victims or witnesses of migrant smuggling, extortion and/or (sexual) violence. The call for witnesses is being distributed in several languages, including Tigrinya, the language mainly spoken in Eritrea.
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Did you flee the Horn of Africa between 2016 and 2024, and did you make the journey to Europe via Sudan and Libya? And during that trip, were you a victim or witness of human trafficking, extortion and/or (sexual) violence? If so, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (KMar) would like to get in touch with you.
ንትግርኛ ኣብ`ዚ ጠውቕ።
Case details
Crime scene: Sudan and/or Libya
Date of crime: between 2016 and 2024
Contact details
WhatsApp, Viber or IMO: +31 6 575 70 711
Mail: contactus@mindef.nl
For more information: