One of Europe’s most notorious people smugglers has been arrested in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq, British security officials said.

Barzan Majeed, known as “the Scorpion”, was detained on Monday in the Sulaymaniyah area by Kurdish regional security forces after a request from Interpol.

Majeed, who previously lived in Nottingham, was wanted by the National Crime Agency after he was convicted of human trafficking crimes in absentia in Belgium in 2022 following a joint UK-Belgian investigation.

The agency said he had attempted to smuggle 100 migrants to the UK in small boats and trucks.

The number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats has soared in recent years.

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Parliament has approved the government’s controversial Rwanda policy in an attempt to reduce the number of small boats arriving in the UK.

Many would-be migrants hail from Iraq‘s northern Kurdish region.

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While the region is relatively more prosperous and stable than other parts of the country, rising unemployment and corruption are driving many young Kurds to undertake the dangerous journey.

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