ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish man was arrested near the Kurdistan Region’s eastern province of Sulaimani after being identified as a high-profile human trafficker by the state-run British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), his family confirmed to Rudaw on Wednesday, denying the accusations made against him.
Kardo Jaff, a 28-year-old Kurdish resident of Ranya district, northwest of Sulaimani, was arrested on Tuesday in his hometown following a BBC investigative report on his role in illegal immigration from the Kurdistan Region.
“None of the accusations leveled against him are true,” his mother, Khuncha Ali, told Rudaw’s Shahyan Tahseen, adding, “I don’t know how this happened to Kardo… He has not encouraged anyone to leave the country. He only goes from home to work and from work to home,” she said, denying her son’s involvement.
According to the BBC report, Kardo allegedly operated under multiple pseudonyms to avoid an international arrest warrant and was described as a “key player” in a network based in the Kurdistan Region that promoted and facilitated illegal migration.
In a phone call in which the British broadcaster’s translator posed as a client, the alleged smuggler reportedly offered a VIP migration service on a flight to Manchester in the United Kingdom for £160,000 (around $215,000).
When confronted with the allegations, Kardo denied any involvement in migrant smuggling, telling the BBC that he merely advised people on “how to leave Iraq.”
The report purportedly documented Jaff’s activities on social media and messaging platforms, where he allegedly offered smuggling services from Afghanistan to the UK. The report also included images of what it described as his business card and a video showing migrants chanting his name aboard a boat near British shores.
The Kurdistan Region has witnessed a rise in youth migration over the past decade, driven largely by economic hardship and the search for better opportunities abroad.
Officials and civil society organizations have repeatedly warned about the growing trend, pointing to high unemployment rates and limited economic prospects as the primary drivers.
Around 6,500 people from the Kurdistan Region migrated abroad in 2025, with at least 11 losing their lives during dangerous journeys, a local refugee association told Rudaw in early January.
RELATED: Around 6,500 people migrated from Kurdistan Region in 2025: Refugee association
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