ADDIS ABABA
\nEthiopian police said they had arrested 22 people accused of trafficking almost 2,000 people, part of a sprawling network that saw at least two people die and the accused net millions.
\nThe vast country is one of the continent\u2019s main departure points for migrants to the Gulf and Europe, and a hotspot for scams and traffickers.
\nPolice said late Tuesday the accused formed \u201ccriminal gangs\u201d and offered people \u201cfalse hope that they will enter Europe and live a better life after traveling through Libya.\u201d
\nThe migrants were instead held in Libyan warehouses, forced to contact their families for money, and essentially \u201cheld hostage until the ransom was paid.\u201d
\nThe gang made more than 2.16 billion biir ($13 million) by trafficking 1,800 people, leading to at least two deaths and 15 disappearances, police said.
\nIn August, Ethiopia sentenced five people to death for human trafficking, state media reported, though the country has not carried out an execution since 2007, according to the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ADDIS ABABA Ethiopian police said they had arrested 22 people accused of trafficking almost 2,000 people, part of a sprawling network that saw at least two people die and the accused net millions. The vast country is one of the continent\u2019s main departure points for migrants to the Gulf and Europe, and a hotspot for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-528281","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n