Libya arrests 2 suspected traffickers, returns 53 to Egypt

By SAMY MAGDY
Associated Press

Officials say Libyan authorities have arrested two suspected human traffickers and facilitated the return of more than 50 Egyptian migrants to their home country. Fifty-three Egyptians landed in Cairo’s international airport on a private flight late Sunday after authorities in Libya’s capital of Tripoli arrested them for attempting to travel by boat to Europe in recent weeks, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said. The arrests and return of the would-be migrants came amid a spike in dangerous crossings and attempted crossings from the North African nation to Europe over the Mediterranean Sea. Libya’s chief prosecutor’s office says one of the two suspected traffickers is known on social media platforms as Haj Hakeem.