Sunday, December 23, 2012

Thirteen Ethiopian stowaways nabbed in Tanzania

Thirteen Ethiopian stowaways nabbed in Tanzania -

Tanzanian immigration authorities on Wednesday arrested 13 Ethiopian stowaways in its northern region while they were en route for "greener pastures" in Europe and the United States.

Arusha Regional Immigration Officer Daniel Namomba said the Ethiopian teenagers, waiting for travel arrangement to the intended destinations, were arrested in a house located on the outskirts of Arusha city.

"We have discovered that the arrested aliens were on transit to South Africa as a way to Europe and the United States in search of greener pastures," he said.

He called upon Tanzanians to help identify strangers in their neighborhoods to curb the human trafficking business.

In June this year, 43 Ethiopians were found dead in an air- tight container near Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania, en route to South Africa.

Arusha-based immigration department also revealed that cases of illegal immigrants have been declining lately with only 88 aliens being arrested between January and June this year.

"Out of the 88 arrested illegal immigrants there were 57 Kenyans, eight Ethiopians, five Ugandans, four Sri-Lankans, three Somalis, three Congolese and two Canadians," Namomba said, adding that the rest were individuals from Italy, Pakistan, Niger, the Comoros, India and Nigeria.

In 2011, the immigration department arrested 328 illegal immigrants with Kenyans accounting for 153 of the total figure, followed by Somalis, Ethiopians, Ugandans and Pakistanis.

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