A notorious Libyan people-trafficker accused of dispatching thousands of migrants to Europe while doubling as a coastguard commander has been arrested after international pressure.
Abd al-Rahman al-Milad, 30, was held in Tripoli on Wednesday on the orders of the interior minister of the UN-backed government controlling the city.
“This case had become an embarrassment for the minister of interior who is trying to boost his profile as a national leader,” said Nancy Porsia, an Italian journalist who was the first to expose the trafficking network overseen by the smuggler nicknamed Bija.
Revelations about his activities in Zawiya, a coastal city 30 miles from Tripoli, prompted the UN to issue sanctions against him in 2018 but also drew attention to his job as a commander with
