British police said Saturday they had charged an Egyptian man accused of masterminding the smuggling of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Europe, following an international investigation. Officers from the U.K.'s National Crime Agency arrested Ahmed Ramadan Mohamad Eibd, 40, near his west London home on Wednesday, after a probe which also involved Italy's prosecutors, coast guard and financial crimes investigators. Eibd appeared in a west London magistrates' court early Saturday, where he was charged with facilitating illegal immigration. He is suspected of masterminding, from his home in the U.K., the smuggling of thousands of people across the Mediterranean from Libya into Italy. "We will continue to share intelligence and take action with partners to prevent crossings and arrest people smugglers here and overseas."

Source: The North Africa Journal June 24, 2023 16:49 UTC