Europe's most wanted people smuggler nicknamed The Scorpion arrested in police sting in Iraq after two years on the run

Barzan Kamal Majeed, 36, nicknamed ‘Scorpion’, has been arrested in Iraq following a police sting, it has emerged.

Asayish, the Kurdish region’s security forces, on Monday announced that Majeed, a human trafficker who masterminded an organised crime group which tried to smuggle more than a hundred migrants into Britain, had been taken into custody.

Majeed, originally from Nottingham, had been missing since November 2022 when he failed to appear in court in Belgium for a sentencing hearing.

‘Following the launch of an investigation, Asayish forces, based on exchange of intel and upon the request of Interpol and as per a ruling by the judge, a great human trafficker and smuggler was arrested,’ Asayish told Rudaw Media Network today.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.