A Syrian man accused of being a senior member of a people-smuggling gang that charged migrants $6,000 to cross the Mediterranean has been arrested in the UK.
Ayman Al Taleb, 41, now faces extradition to Germany where he is wanted on 17 separate charges, the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.
He is suspected of orchestrating crossings from Libya to Europe and then arranging false documents for illegal arrivals between August 2022 and July 2024, with each migrant charged around US$6,000 for the perilous journey.
Mr Al Taleb is believed to have arrived in the UK by small boat in 2024, using a false identity. The Germans issued an arrest warrant for him in March this year.
NCA investigators established his true identity and tracked him
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