ADDIS ABABA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's Amhara regional state has convicted 227 Ethiopians during the 2016/17 Ethiopian Fiscal Year (EFY) that ended on July 8.
The 227 individuals were given prison sentences ranging from 1 year to 20 years, said Yeneneh Simegn, president of Amhara regional state supreme court, reported the state owned Ethiopian News Agency on Friday.
According to data obtained from The Amhara regional state, 1,270 Ethiopians who were on their way to being trafficked to neighboring countries have been repatriated during the just ended EFY.
Although there are no exact estimates on the number of Ethiopians trafficked annually to foreign countries, it's estimated thousands of Ethiopians are trafficked into foreign countries annually.
The human trafficking route goes through three different locations, one being north through Sudan, Libya and Mediterranean Sea to eventually reach the European continent.
The 2nd human trafficking route goes east through Somalia, Djibouti and the Red Sea to reach Saudi Arabia. The third human trafficking route goes south through Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique before reaching the intended destination of South Africa.
