The immigration team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Friday foiled a major human trafficking operation at the Islamabad airport.
Authorities arrested five people, including a 16-year-old child, who were trying to travel to SaFive suspects arrested in Lahore over Umrah visa-related human trafficking operation in Saudi Islamabad a broader program of human trafficking.
According to an FIA spokesperson, the suspects – Miraj Khan, Usman Khan, Asad Ali, Murtaza Ali and the minor – had planned to travel to Saudi Arabia on the pretext of performing Umrah. From there they intended to reach Libya and then attempt to reach Italy by sea.
The suspects allegedly paid 3.9 million Pakistani rupees each to agents Wajid Khan and Faisal Khan for facilitating their travel arrangements.
During the search, two Egyptian visas were also recovered from the suspects. Initial investigations suggest that the remaining visas were supposed to be issued by sub-agents in Saudi Arabia.
FIA’s timely intervention exposed the human trafficking network and the suspects were transferred to the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Islamabad for further investigation.
Authorities are intensifying efforts to apprehend the agents involved in this scheme.
The FIA is committed to continuing its crackdown on human traffickers, using all available resources to bring perpetrators to justice.
