Ethiopian authorities, in collaboration with Interpol and Malawian police, have arrested and extradited Addinew Bashaw Wudamo, a high-profile human trafficking suspect accused of running an abusive cross-border smuggling network. Wudamo was extradited to Ethiopia on July 29, 2026, following a joint international operation targeting human smuggling operations across East and Southern Africa. Federal police officials confirmed that the suspect is now in custody awaiting formal charges in Addis Ababa.
According to preliminary police reports, Wudamo targeted young individuals from the Central Ethiopia Region, specifically within the Hadiya and Kembata zones, by promising employment opportunities in South Africa. Investigators revealed that the smuggling network charged victims between 600,000 and 800,000 Ethiopian Birr (ETB), requiring an initial upfront payment of at least 100,000 ETB per traveler before transporting them along illicit southern transit routes.
Law enforcement documentation alleges that victims experienced severe abuse and extortion during transit. Smugglers reportedly routed travelers through Moyale into Kenya, holding them in clandestine camps near the Gambo forest with minimal food and water. Investigators detailed accounts of physical assault, electric shocks, and confinement in Nairobi, where victims were allegedly tortured to force their families to transfer additional funds to local accomplices.
The transit route extended through Mombasa into Tanzania, where travelers were transported in sealed freight containers and covered trucks before being abandoned in remote areas. Authorities reported that many of the migrants failed to reach South Africa, instead facing arrest in transit countries, serving prison sentences of up to three years for illegal entry, and paying substantial fines of up to 170,000 ETB to secure deportation back to Ethiopia.
The federal police noted that the multi-agency operation had been tracking Wudamo’s network since 2022 as part of a broader crackdown on transnational human trafficking rings. Officials reaffirmed their commitment to working with international police partners to dismantle similar operations and urged the public to report suspicious activity using the official EFPApp, emergency hotlines, or local police channels.