Ethiopian police said they arrested 22 people accused of smuggling nearly 2,000 people, as part of a massive network that left at least two people dead and brought millions to defendants.
This vast country is one of the continent's main departure points for migrants to the Gulf and Europe, and a hotbed of scams and traffickers.
Police said Tuesday evening that the defendants had trained "criminal gangs" and had given to people "false hopes that they would enter Europe and lead a better life after crossing Libya".
Instead, the migrants were detained in Libyan warehouses, forced to contact their families for money, and essentially "held hostage until the ransom is paid".
The gang earned more than 2.16 billion birr ($13 million) from smuggling 1,800 people, leading to at least two deaths and 15 disappearances, according to police.
In August, ethiopia sentenced five people to death for human trafficking, state media reported, although the country has not carried out any executions since 2007, according to the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty.
