The leader of a major human trafficking ring has been arrested after he went on the run before being sentenced to eight years in prison in December, British authorities said Saturday, as quoted by AFP.

The network is suspected of transporting at least 1,900 Kurdish migrants in trucks who left the Balkans for France or Germany, and some for the UK.

Five members of the network were sentenced on December 9. The main accused, Tariq Namik, was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Due to Namik’s absence in court, an arrest warrant was issued in his name.

Namik was taken into custody on Friday when he arrived at Manchester Airport on a flight from Istanbul and will be brought to court on Monday for formal sentencing, Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Saturday.

The network, which was the target of an NCA investigation in 2017, ran a “sophisticated” operation aimed at transporting migrants from Iraq and Iran.

Tarik Namik maintained contacts with other guides from abroad, his organization used TIR drivers who came, as a rule, from Turkey.

Records found on his phone suggest that he may have been involved in transporting at least 1,900 migrants from the Balkans to France or Germany, collecting around 1,800 euros from each person (Source: Agerpres / Photo: Dreamstime.com).