FIA arrests five for human trafficking, visa fraud

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested five individuals allegedly involved in human trafficking and visa fraud, following a series of operations conducted by its Gujranwala Zone.

According to an FIA spokesperson, the suspects – identified as Shahzad Razzaq, Muhammad Nawaz, Imran Iqbal, Muhammad Mumtaz and Khalid Javed – were apprehended from various locations in Gujranwala and Gujrat.

The agency said the suspects lured citizens with promises of overseas employment and collected millions of rupees under false pretences.

After taking large sums of money from citizens seeking to migrate to European countries, the alleged human traffickers sent them to Azerbaijan, Libya, and other countries, intending to smuggle them into Europe through Dunki routes.

One of the accused, Shahzad Razzaq, took Rs1.8 million from a victim on the pretext of arranging a student visa for Italy but instead sent him to Azerbaijan.

Muhammad Nawaz allegedly collected Rs3.93 million from multiple individuals by promising them illegal passage to Greece. However, he too sent them to Azerbaijan from where he would be smuggled into Europe later. Multiple cases are already registered against him.

Another suspect, Mumtaz, charged a citizen Rs2.5 million to arrange employment in Italy but sent him to Libya instead. The victim was then asked to travel to Europe by boat but refused and returned to Pakistan.

Similarly, Khalid Javed is accused of extorting Rs4 million from a citizen under the guise of sending him to Canada, while Imran Iqbal allegedly took Rs2.8 million for an Italian job visa but failed to deliver and subsequently went into hiding.

All suspects have now been taken into custody and investigations are underway, the FIA said.

Last week, the FIA arrested two persons and charged four others in a scandal of Pakistani visas to Afghan nationals on fake sponsorship letters.

According to the firs information report (FIR) lodged by the anti-crime watchdog, two government employees, one working in the Press Information Department and other in the Foreign Office, are among those involved in the scam.