First the exclusive interview with the BBC, then the arrest. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has announced that it has arrested Barzan Kamal Majeed, known by the nickname “Scorpion”, the super fugitive at the head of one of the main criminal organizations that controls illegal immigration in central Europe. The 38-year-old was wanted throughout the old continent, but the arrest took place in Sulaymaniyah, a city in the eastern part of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, shortly after the interview given to journalists of the British broadcaster. According to Rudaw Media Network, the operation was conducted by the security forces of the Asayish region with the cooperation of intelligence and Interpol.
Who is Barzan Majeed, aka Scorpion
Barzan Kamal Majeed, known as Scorpion, a 38-year-old Iraqi, was one of the most wanted men in the world, capable of “moving” thousands of migrants to Europe through his organization, for an illegal business worth millions of euros . There is little official information about him. In 2006 he arrived in the United Kingdom after traveling as an illegal immigrant in the back of a lorry, remaining illegally in the country until 2015, when he was expelled by the English authorities. According to Interpol, as early as 2007 he began to play a key role in human trafficking, taking the place of his brother, who had been arrested and was locked up in a prison in Belgium.
An increasingly central role that has allowed him to manage millions of euros over the last two decades: crossing the Channel clandestinely costs around 10 thousand euros per person and it is not possible to quantify how many people Scorpion has “moved” with his work. It is difficult to estimate how many men, women and children arrived in Europe enriching his pockets, as he himself admitted to the BBC: “I don’t know, I haven’t counted them. Maybe a thousand, maybe 10 thousand”.
The BBC interview and the capture
In October 2022, a Belgian court found him guilty of 121 charges, sentencing him in absentia to 10 years in prison and a fine of approximately 968 thousand euros. Once the international arrest warrant was issued, “Scorpion” became one of the most wanted men in Europe (and beyond), at least until BBC journalists “found” him in the bar of a shopping center in Iraq, frequented by traffickers. The two reporters managed to speak with Scorpion and organize an exclusive interview. At the meeting Barzan Kamal Majeed appeared calm and well dressed, but during the interview with journalists he never admitted to being a human trafficker. According to the accusations, the 38-year-old would have dealt with the routes to Belgium and France, but in the interview he only admitted to having “handled” millions of dollars, without however defining himself as a trafficker. “It is those who physically put them on trucks and boats – he underlined -, I only managed the money. Money, migrants, traffickers, I was in the midst of these things, but I don’t feel responsible for those who didn’t arrive at their destination alive. God he doesn’t order you to get on the boat, I never put anyone on it and I never killed anyone, I just took money, assigning and dividing the seats.” The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced the capture of Scorpion, without specifying whether the BBC’s initiative had a role in the arrest, which in any case occurred three days after the publication of the interview.
