Human trafficking: FIA arrests two men from Gujranwala

WEB DESK: Following an operation conducted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Gujranwala two men involved in human smuggling were rounded up. 

The FIA raid in Shadman Colony led to the arrest of two men, Zia-ur-Rehman and Ajaz Ahmed. Director FIA stated that the accused were providing fake visas to citizens from various parts of Pakistan with the assistance of agents.

Director FIA Gujranwala Zone, Abdul Qadir Qamar stated that the accused were involved in creating and selling fake passports, visa stickers, and other important documents. 

During the raid, 20 Pakistani and 31 foreign passports were recovered from the accused alongside a large number of fake visa stickers. The officials also found special machines used to create fake visa stickers. Stickers for 96 European countries along with 18 Chinese, 41 British, and 12 American visas were recovered.

Also read: FIA registers case against accused involved in Greek boat tragedy

Similarly, fake visa stickers for Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, Serbia, Greece, Sweden, Malta, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, and the UAE were also recovered. Many bank deposit slips, 95 fake stamps, 13 fake residency cards, immigration stamps, lamination sheets, and other travel documents were seized. Alongside these, fake chamber of commerce cards, student cards, mobile phones, lamination machines, and typing machines were also recovered.

It appears that the accused operated an organised network and worked with various agents and were able to lure citizens who are desperate to leave the country: “The accused charged hefty amounts and sent citizens abroad on visit or Umrah visas. Some were also sent to Dubai, Azerbaijan, and other countries to Europe.”

An investigation has been initiated after the arrest of the accused, and raids are being conducted to arrest other members.

Three women on ‘wanted’ list arrested in Karachi

As a result of a raid conducted by the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, the three women arrested are actually from Bangladesh and were on the wanted list since 2022: “Despite being foreigners, the accused obtained national identity cards through forgery and obtained birth and death certificates through an agent using fake documentation.” 

The birth and death certificates were issued by the Secretary Union Council, Rizvia Society, Liaquatabad Town, and the accused later obtained identity cards on the basis of these documents.

An investigation has been expanded against the elements involved in facilitating the accused especially to determine whether any NADRA officials were involved. 

Following action against human traffickers after a boat carrying migrants capsized off Greek coast on December 14, the FIA has been registering cases under Human Trafficking Act after conducting various operations nationwide.

Four Pakistanis drowned in the waters, while 47 Pakistanis were amongst the survivors who were rescued. Most of them belong to Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin districts.

Last year, more than a hundred Pakistanis drowned off the Greek shore when an overloaded boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the witnesses, the fishing boat with limited capacity was carrying around 400 to 750 people. While the disaster was dubbed as one of the worst one in years, it seems that it was not able to deter Pakistanis from attempting to cross the borders risking their lives.

The FIA then also took action and registered more than 50 cases against human smugglers in Gujrat, Lahore and Gujranwala, and said that a plan was being devised to prevent such incidents in future.