"The Scorpion," Barzan Majeed, was taken into custody by Kurdish regional security personnel in the Sulaymaniyah area on Monday following an Interpol request.

Majeed, who previously lived in Nottingham, was wanted by the National Crime Agency after he was convicted of human trafficking crimes in absentia in Belgium in 2022 following a joint UK-Belgian investigation.

The agency said he had attempted to smuggle 100 migrants to the UK in small boats and trucks.

The number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats has soared in recent years.

Parliament has approved the government's controversial Rwanda policy in an attempt to reduce the number of small boats arriving in the UK.

Many would-be migrants hail from Iraq's northern Kurdish region.

While the region is relatively more prosperous and stable than other parts of the country, rising unemployment and corruption are driving many young Kurds to undertake the dangerous journey.