Kenyan authorities have arrested a Dutchman linked to international Human trafficking from African to Europe.
The suspect, John Habeta, 53 years, of Eritrean descent, was arrested in Kenya following an operation by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation after an Interpol Red Notice was issued for his arrest.
The suspect was arrested in Nairobi where he had been hiding for an unspecified period. Habeta is believed to be the mastermind of an international human smuggling organization that operates in the underworld, responsible for the trafficking of human beings from Africa to Europe.
Habeta is linked to at least four different operations where groups of Eritrean nationals were smuggled into Europe through Asia. Immediately after his arrest, he was deported to the Netherlands on orders from the Ministry of Interior, after the cabinet secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i.
According to the DCI, the Dutch national will remain in custody in The Netherlands, where he will face trial. Through constant intelligence sharing between Nairobi’s NCB and the support of INTERPOL’s General Secretariat headquarters, such criminals will find it very difficult to operate not only in Kenya but in Africa at large.