BAGHDAD (AP) — One of Europe’s most notorious human smugglers was arrested Monday in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, security officials said.

The regional government’s security agency said it had arrested Barzan Majeed, known as “the Scorpion,” in the area of Sulaymaniyah, upon a request from Interpol and “after the exchange of intelligence information.”

He was handed over to the regional justice department, it said.

The U.K.'s National Crime Agency announced Majeed’s arrest on its X account (formerly known as Twitter).

The crime agency had issued an appeal for assistance in tracking Majeed down in 2022, after he was convicted in absentia in Belgium of people smuggling crimes, following a joint U.K.-Belgian investigation. The agency said he had attempted to smuggle 100 migrants to the U.K. in small boats and trucks.