Human traffickers involved in Greece boat accident arrested

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), in separate operation across the country, arrested seven human traffickers, including those involved in the Greece boat accident.

According to reports, the agency carried out operations in the federal capital, Abbottabad city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and various areas of Punjab.

During operations in Gujranwala, Sialkot, Mandi Bahauddin and Gujarat, five suspects were arrested including the notorious human trafficker involved in the Greece boat accident, Abdul Majeed.

According to FIA, Majeed had collected Rs4.2 million from a citizen named Fahad Khalid for smuggling him to Greece by sea route. The whereabouts of Fahad could never be determined after the Greece boat accident.

In another operation in Abbottabad, the FIA arrested another human trafficker involved in the Greece boat accident. The arrested suspect, Qari Jan Muhammad, belongs to Afghanistan and was on the list of wanted suspects in human trafficking.

The detained Qari was involved in trafficking citizens to Europe through illegal routes, and solid evidence related to human trafficking was also recovered from his smartphone.

Similarly, the FIA ​​Islamabad team arrested Hassan Butt, a declared suspect involved in human trafficking to Europe through illegal sea routes, from Jalalpur Jatan.

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The accused minted millions of rupees from citizens for trafficking them from Turkey to Europe.

It should be noted that for the past few days, anti-human trafficking operations have been expedited across the country.

On January 2, the FIA’s Islamabad zone carried out major operations and arrested two human traffickers, including one involved in the Libyan boat accident.

Earlier, on January 1, the FIA ​​ arrested 10 suspects, including human traffickers, after various operations in Islamabad and Punjab.

Following the Prime Minister’s clear orders to arrest those involved in the Greek and Libyan boat accidents, the FIA ​​has also taken action against black sheep found in its own ranks.

The agency found 31 officials, including inspectors, sub-inspectors, and constables, aiding illegal travel for individuals who tragically lost their lives in the incident.

These officers were reportedly stationed at various airports across Pakistan. Nineteen in Faisalabad,  Sialkot (3), Lahore (2), Islamabad (2), and Quetta (5).

The said officers names have been placed on the Exit Control List.