Notorious people smuggler dies after car riddled with bullets outside naval academy in Libya

A notorious Libyan people trafficker has been shot dead in Tripoli, officials said.

Gunmen riddled a car carrying Abd al-Rahman al-Milad, 34, with bullets outside the naval academy he ran near the capital on Sunday, local media reported.

The chauffeur-driven vehicle was hit by a barrage of heavy gunfire, Italian intelligence announced.

Milad, known as Bija, allegedly made millions dispatching thousands of migrants to Europe by sea.

The UN Security Council sanctioned Milad and five men accused of people smuggling and in 2017 said he was “directly involved in the sinking of migrant boats using firearms”.

He was considered to be the leader of a criminal organisation operating a coastguard unit in the western Libyan town of Zawiya that used EU funds and vessels donated by Italy.

In a daring game of double-dealing, Milad’s team is then said to have intercepted and returned migrants to centres where they would be sold another passage.

Milad - subject of an Interpol red notice in 2018 over human smuggling allegations - was jailed for six months in Libya in 2020.

Speculation is growing over who murdered Milad, despite the presence of his bodyguard squad, reports The Times.

Umberto Profazio, an analyst at the IISS think tank, said: “His militia reportedly received cash from Italy to stop trafficking and that might have caused resentment among rival militias in Zawiya who did not get rich.“

Two Italian journalists Nancy Porsia and Nello Scavo, who extensively covered Milad’s criminal smuggling activities, were given police protection after receiving death threats.

Mr Scavo suggested Milad might have been killed by a rival in his own gang after the criminal boss “frequently threatened to expose secrets about the dealings between Libyan authorities and human traffickers”.

He added: “Let’s see if there are more shootings and what happens to migrant sailings in the next two weeks.”

Porsia wrote on Facebook: “As a human being, I express a thought to his son who is not even two years old today for the loss of his father.

“His threats against me and my family are part of a story that is still being written.”

Libya emerged as a major migrant route to Europe after the country descended into lawlessness in the wake of the overthrow of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with rival militias vying for power.

Four years ago, human rights groups reported migrants in Libya faced widespread violence and abuse.