Police in Sudan arrested the world's most wanted people smuggler, Mered Medhanie, 35, from the East African country of Eritrea. His nickname is 'The General' because of the way he plans people smuggling. Police say Mered's actions caused hundreds of migrant deaths. Migrants are people trying to go to Europe for a better life. At least 359 migrants died when their boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea in 2013. Police found Mered in a secret hideout in Sudan's capital city Khartoum. They worked closely with Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) and intelligence services.
Mered is now in Italy, where he could get a long prison sentence. He controlled a big organisation that smuggled thousands of migrants from Africa and the Middle East to Europe. He charged people up to $5,500 each for the high-risk journey in dangerous boats. The NCA said Mered was a high-level human trafficker who did not care about people's lives. A spokesperson said: "Medhanie is a prolific people smuggler [who disregards] human life." Italian police said Mered wanted to make a huge amount of money from his activities and then move to Sweden, where his wife lives.
