Ermias Ghermay

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Ermias Ghermay is a suspected Ethiopian criminal and head of the largest network of smugglers in North Africa . He is wanted by EUROPOL and is believed to be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. According to the Italian judiciary, his activities raised around 100 million euros from 2013 to 2015 . Since summer 2014 he has been wanted by international arrest warrant .

network

Ghermay's "customers" are mainly refugees from North Africa , Ethiopia and Somalia . Telephone calls tapped by the Italian authorities are said to show that he had sent at least 8,000 asylum seekers to Italy on boats by that time. To do this, he is supposed to bribe security guards and prison officials in Libya . The Italian public prosecutor Maurizio Scalia stated in 2015 that the refugees from Eritrea or Ethiopia would have to pay around 4,000 to 5,000 US dollars for the transport to Libya and another 1,000 to 1,500 US dollars for the crossing to Italy.

According to media information, the refugees are crammed into camps until the organized boats are cast off. Armed militias would guard the people. Some of the smugglers would pick up the refugees in the Libyan desert and lure the desperate people with great promises. Time and again, the refugees' valuables were robbed by the smugglers.

According to the Italian police, Ghermay lives in hiding in Tripoli . Ghermay is said to have stationed his brother Asghedom Ghermay in Sicily by the end of 2014 . He was arrested, but other smugglers are said to have quickly followed suit who filled his position.

Boat accident off Lampedusa in 2013

The investigation into the smugglers on the "Libya route" began shortly after the tragedy of Lampedusa on October 3, 2013 in which at least 545 people drowned off the coast. According to the Italian public prosecutor's office, Ermias Ghermay is said to have sent the overcrowded boat and other boats knowingly of the dangers across the Mediterranean. After the accident, he is said to have said after a telephone recording: "Inshallah - this is how you came to Allah".

Arrests in 2015

The public prosecutor in Palermo arrested 24 traffickers on the "Libya route" in April 2015. After almost two years of investigations by the special forces of the Italian Direzione Investigativa Antimafia , people from this network were arrested as part of Operation Glauco II in Cara di Mineo , Catania , Palermo and Agrigento in Sicily, but also in Milan and Rome . In Palermo alone, the police arrested 15 people who are said to have worked on behalf of Ghermay.

Besides Ermias Ghermay that of Tripoli or the northwestern port city of Zuwara operates out, is also Redae Medhane Yehdego from Eritrea in the guide ring of the network.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Migrant boat disaster: Smuggler known as 'The General' laughed about deaths on crossing from Libya to Italy independent.co.uk. Retrieved August 16, 2018
  2. ↑ The millionaire people smugglers who laughed when they heard hundreds had died: Police hunt cruel traffickers making a fortune from deadly Mediterranean crossings in Libya dailymail.co.uk. Accessed August 16, 2018
  3. ^ Italian strike against smugglers faz.net, accessed on August 16, 2018
  4. ^ Italian strike against smugglers faz.net, accessed on August 16, 2018
personal data
SURNAME Ghermay, Ermias
BRIEF DESCRIPTION alleged Ethiopian criminal
DATE OF BIRTH 20th century
PLACE OF BIRTH Ethiopia