Ethiopia Brings Suspected Human Trafficking Kingpin Home Through Joint Operation with Interpol and Malawi

Addis Ababa, July 30, 2026 (FMC) — Ethiopia’s Federal Police, in collaboration with Interpol and the Malawi Police Service, has secured the extradition of a suspected transnational human trafficking kingpin to face justice in Ethiopia following a coordinated international operation.

The suspect, Adnew Bashaw, was apprehended in Malawi and transferred to Ethiopian authorities after investigators linked him to an extensive human trafficking network accused of subjecting hundreds of Ethiopian youths to severe abuse while smuggling them to South Africa through irregular migration routes.

According to the Federal Police, investigations supported by witness testimonies and documentary evidence established that Adnew Bashaw and his associates had recruited large numbers of young Ethiopians, particularly from the Hadiya and Kembata zones in the Central Ethiopia Region, by luring them with false promises of employment and a better life abroad.

Police said the trafficking network charged each victim between 600,000 and 800,000 birr, while collecting advance payments of 100,000 birr or more from families in Ethiopia before the journey even began.

Investigators said victims were first smuggled through Moyale into Kenya, where they were reportedly hidden in the Gambo forest under inhumane conditions. Survivors told investigators they were given only small portions of rice and pieces of bread once every 24 hours, deprived of adequate drinking water, and forced to endure hunger before being made to cross the harsh Selo desert on foot and by motorcycle.

The Federal Police said that after arriving in Nairobi, many victims were confined in overcrowded rooms and pressured to demand additional payments from their families. Those unable to secure further funds were allegedly subjected to brutal beatings, death threats and electric shocks until relatives transferred more money—often exceeding 100,000 birr—through collaborators operating inside Ethiopia.

The investigation further revealed that victims were later transported from Nairobi in cargo containers, trailers and open trucks concealed under tarpaulins before being abandoned in forests in Tanzania, exposing them to grave danger.

Police stated that many of the trafficked youths never reached South Africa. Instead, they were arrested in different transit countries for illegal entry, sentenced to prison terms of up to three years, and, after completing their sentences, forced to pay as much as 170,000 birr to return to Ethiopia.

The Federal Police said the suspect had remained under intensive investigation since the 2022/23 Ethiopian fiscal year through close cooperation with Interpol. Authorities accused him of inflicting severe physical, psychological and economic harm on numerous Ethiopian youths over several years.

Following his arrest by the Malawi Police Service, the suspect was formally handed over to Ethiopian authorities on July 29, 2026, to face prosecution.

The Federal Police said it will continue working closely with law enforcement agencies in other countries to identify, apprehend and prosecute individuals involved in transnational human trafficking and related crimes.

The institution also called on the public to strengthen its cooperation by reporting suspected trafficking activities through the EFPApp, the 991 emergency hotline, or the SPS reporting platform.