The commercial director of Ghadames Air, a Libyan airline, has been arrested in connection with an investigation into the transportation of migrants seeking to enter the United States via Nicaragua, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Tripoli.
The prosecutor in the Libyan capital accused the director of organizing flights through Ghadames Air from Tripoli and Benghazi airports, facilitating the travel of hundreds of individuals aiming to enter the U.S. through Nicaragua. The charges were outlined in a statement released by the prosecutor’s office.
As part of this investigation, authorities ordered the detention of the commercial director for “engaging in activities harmful to the country’s interests,” as announced late Sunday.
The Public Prosecutor explained that the airline operated flights carrying hundreds of passengers from East Asian countries, disregarding air carrier obligations and national immigration laws, as well as international protocols against the smuggling of migrants by land, sea, and air.
An investigation by “Le Monde” in late May revealed that Ghadames Air operated flights transporting hundreds of Asian migrants from Benghazi and Tripoli to Managua, Nicaragua.
For several years, Ghadames Air, like most Libyan public and private airlines, has been banned from entering European Union airspace due to security concerns.
Human trafficking gangs have exploited the instability in Libya since 2011 to develop secret networks for transporting thousands of migrants from Africa to Europe.
