- FIA arrests ringleader of a gang involved in human trafficking from Gujarat
ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to put the names of 31 Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials and personnel, allegedly linked to the Greece boat tragedy in which several Pakistanis lost their lives, on the passport control list.
According to officials of the interior ministry, of these 31 FIA inspectors, sub-inspectors and personnel, 19 are deputed at Faisalabad airport, five at Quetta airport, three at Sialkot airport, two at Lahore airport and as many officials are deployed at Islamabad airport.
At least four Pakistanis were killed while dozens went missing after their wooden boat capsized off Greece’s southern island of Gavdos, the coastguard said, and witnesses said many were still missing as search operations continued.
A number of arrests have been made in recent days in different cities of the country as part of a crackdown on those linked to the tragic incident.
In related development on Saturday, the FIA arrested two human smugglers during a raid on a fake visa factory in Gujranwala.
FIA Composite Circle Gujranwala carried out a raid in Shadman Colony and arrested Ziaur Rehman and Ijaz Ahmed.
The suspects provided fake visas to citizens with the help of agents in different parts of Pakistan.
They were involved in making and selling fake passports, visa stickers and other travel documents to innocent citizens in lieu of huge amounts of money.
It was also revealed that they were part of an international network of human traffickers.
During the raid, 20 Pakistani and 31 foreign passports, a large number of fake visa stickers were recovered. The machines used in the production of fake visa stickers were also recovered.
As many as 96 fake visa stickers of Europe, 18 of China, 41 of the UK and 12 of the US were recovered from the accused.
Fake visa stickers from Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, Serbia, Greece, Sweden, Malta, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, and the UAE were also recovered from the accused.
Moreover, 95 fake stamps, bank deposit slips, 13 fake residence cards and immigration stamps, lamination sheets and other travel documents were seized from the accused.
FIA arrests ‘ringleader’ of human trafficking racket
Meanwhile, the FIA Gujranwala Zone in an operation against human traffickers, arrested a suspect involved in international human smuggling. A spokesperson for the FIA said that Composite Circle FIA Gujarat, on the tip-off, raided a secret warehouse and successfully arrested the ringleader of a gang involved in human trafficking. The accused was identified as Yasir Shoukat.
The suspect, along with other gang members, initially facilitated the victims’ travel to Saudi Arabia on Umrah visas. Later, he attempted to send them to Libya and Egypt and from where he tried to send them to Europe by a boat, during which the tragic accident occurred, leaving several victims missing.
During investigations, it transpired that the accused had received hefty amounts from the victims. The team recovered seven Pakistani passports, 18 fake passports, nine Libya visa stickers and four copies of Umrah visas from the accused. While eight Egyptian visas, 23 plane tickets and two mobile phones were also recovered from the suspect. Further investigation is under way to arrest the other accused, the spokesperson added.
