Ethiopian and Dubai Police Seize Human Traffickers

The Extradition of Dawud Teferi Legesse and Desta Tegegn Abegaz

According to official reports, the suspects were apprehended in Dubai following an investigation triggered by information received through the Ethiopian Embassy in Dubai. The two principal suspects, also identified as Dawood Teferi and Desta Tegegn, allegedly used various fraudulent methods to illegally transport 105 Ethiopian citizens to Dubai.

Police stated the suspects operated from Dubai, where they worked with accomplices in Ethiopia to recruit young people by promising employment opportunities in the United Arab Emirates. Once the victims arrived in the UAE, the suspects allegedly subjected them to severe abuse and exploitation. The Federal Police noted that the operation was conducted in close coordination with Dubai Police in the United Arab Emirates, resulting in the suspects being apprehended and extradited to Ethiopia.

Evidence of Abuse and Financial Exploitation

The scale of the exploitation uncovered by investigators is extensive. The suspects are accused of subjecting migrants to grave human rights abuses, torture, and exploitation. According to the Ethiopian Federal Police, the suspects extorted more than 188 million birr from the victims. This coordinated trafficking scheme relied on deception to lure citizens out of the country under the guise of legitimate employment.

The Federal Police have highlighted that these inhumane acts were committed against numerous Ethiopian citizens while the suspects were hiding abroad. The investigation into the network remains active as authorities work to address the serious human rights violations reported by the victims of this specific trafficking ring.

Broader Crackdowns on Regional Trafficking Networks

The Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) announced the dismantling of one of the country’s largest human trafficking networks, which is believed to have trafficked approximately 15,000 Ethiopians out of the country through illegal channels. The operation led to the arrest of 49 travel agency owners and the seizure of a cache of documents, including Ethiopian passports, birth certificates, and airline tickets.

In another significant international effort, authorities previously targeted Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam, an Eritrean man described by Interpol as particularly cruel and violent against migrants and one of the world's most wanted human traffickers. Habtemariam was arrested on January 1 as part of a major international police operation led by the United Arab Emirates. He is accused of leading a criminal trafficking organization responsible for abductions, extortions, and murders of East African migrants attempting to reach Europe.

Separately, the Ethiopian Federal Police have targeted other trafficking operations, including a group led by an individual named Yetbarek. Police reported that investigators used advanced technology to track the suspect, who is wanted internationally and uses a variety of aliases. In that case, the bank accounts of the suspect and his accomplices were frozen and properties belonging to the group were confiscated. Photos of ten suspects—seven men and three women—were subsequently released following their arrest in Shire, a region bordering Eritrea and Sudan. This group is alleged to have transported more than 3,000 mainly young people from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Sudan toward Libya.

Ongoing Investigations and Public Safety

Law enforcement continues to grapple with the complexity of these operations, which often involve cross-border movement and the exploitation of migrants in transit. In a recent, separate incident, four weapon smugglers were captured by the national intelligence and Oromia Region’s Burayu Police. The suspects were apprehended with 105 Russian-made Kalashnikov guns while transporting the contraband via an Isuzu truck from the Gambella region toward Addis Ababa.

As authorities continue to process the cases of Dawud Teferi Legesse and Desta Tegegn Abegaz, the focus remains on the financial and human cost of these trafficking schemes.