The UAE has announced the arrest of two internationally wanted men allegedly involved in human trafficking and money laundering.
The two brothers and their associates were caught following a nine-month security operation led by the UAE in partnership with Interpol.
Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam of Eritrea was arrested in Sudan on Sunday by local police in co-operation with the UAE's Ministry of Interior, it was announced in a press conference on Thursday.
He was wanted for leading a criminal organisation that, over several years, kidnapped, mistreated and extorted East African migrants looking to migrate to Europe, according to an Interpol red notice.
His gang held thousands of African refugees and migrants bound for Europe in warehouses in Libya and extorted thousands of dollars from them and their families, Reuters reported in June.
Kidane was arrested in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in 2020 but escaped in February 2021. Four months later, in his absence, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
In October, Dutch prosecutors put Kidane on their most wanted list. Reuters said a Dutch public prosecutor's investigation revealed that his organisation “abuses, extorts, kidnaps and rapes Eritreans” who want to reach the Netherlands.
After his arrest in Sudan this week, he was extradited to the UAE.
In a video shared on social media by Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, showed the trafficking routes for hundreds of illegal immigrants from Africa to Europe, with people moved from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Libya across the Mediterranean Sea and into Italy.
Brig Saeed Al Suwaidi, director general of the UAE's Federal Anti-Narcotics General Directorate, said on Thursday that Kidane will face trial in the UAE.
“UAE Public Prosecution is reviewing his file for the moment,” Brig Al Suwaidi said.
“He will go on trial first in the UAE and the court will decide later on the extradition to Ethiopia or Netherlands after he gets his final judgment.
“It was a happy new year for all police departments working on this operation.”
It is estimated that since 2014, Kidane has been responsible for the trafficking of thousands of victims.
In March last year, intelligence gathered by Interpol's Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants unit led to a task force being formed by participants from the UAE, Ethiopia, Sudan, the Netherlands and Europol.
The collaboration generated fresh intelligence which allowed UAE authorities to conduct an investigation into Kidane's network and family as well as identify money-laundering activities.
“His arrest will neutralise a major people-smuggling route to Europe and protect thousands who would have been at risk of exploitation,” Brig Al Suwaidi said.
“[Kidane] is top level in his network. He was directing his partners on how to transfer migrants from one place to another.”
Stephen Kavanagh, executive director of Police Services at Interpol, said Kidane used people as commodities.
“We know he was using false identification to cross borders and he was travelling by air sometimes,” Mr Kavanagh said.
“We are proud of the co-operation with the UAE and the global effort to arrest Zekarias [Kidane].”
Stefan Schrander, warrant officer, Royal Netherlands Marechaussee said the co-operation between the various police forces “has already resulted in the extradition by Ethiopia last year of a close associate of his and is now followed by a major arrest”.
Kidane's brother, Henok, was also arrested in the operation in Sudan and will face charges of money laundering.
More arrests are expected as part of ongoing investigations and as co-ordination continues with several Interpol member countries.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
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Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
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Leading all-time NBA scorers
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
Karl Malone 36,928
Kobe Bryant 33,643
Michael Jordan 32,292
LeBron James 31,425
Wilt Chamberlain 31,419
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
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Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
if you go
The flights
Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes.
The hotels
The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
