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KHARTOUM, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) on Tuesday said it aborted an operation in eastern Sudan for smuggling people across the Red Sea to a neighboring country, Sudanese Media Center (SMC) reported.
"The NISS has aborted an operation for smuggling 22 people across the Sudanese coast to a neighboring country," the SMC quoted a security source as saying.
"After receiving information about an operation for smuggling people to a neighboring country, a security force moved and apprehended the boat, which was prepared for the smuggling operation, at a port in eastern Sudan," the source added.
Tow suspects of organizing the operation have been arrested and handed over to the police authorities to complete the legal measures against them, the report said.
In January 2014, Sudan endorsed a law stipulating death penalty or not less than five years and not more than 20 years imprisonment against human traffickers.
On June 8, a suspected ringleader of one of the biggest human trafficking organizations was arrested in a joint Sudanese-Italian-British security operation
Medhanie Yehdego Mered, Eritrean, 35, who had been on a wanted list since 2015 for international people smuggling, was arrested in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on May 24 and flown to Italy later in June.
Sudan has recently been witnessing increasing organized groups active in human trafficking and illegal immigration.
In October 2014, Sudan hosted an international conference on combating human trafficking and illegal immigration with participation of African and European countries.
Khartoum says it is maintaining a high-level coordination with Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia from Africa besides Italy, Spain, France and Britain to face the phenomenon.
Sudan is considered one of the crosspoints for human trafficking and illegal immigration.
Earlier, European countries have vowed to support Sudan to combat human trafficking after Khartoum asked for logistical air and sea supports to pursue the multi-national human smugglers. Enditem
