The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has exhibited a network of human smuggling involved in the sending of citizens in Europe via illegal maritime routes, holding five passengers at Karachi airport.
According to a spokesperson for the FIA, the passengers arrived from Mauritania and were identified as Samiullah, Daud Iqbal, Murtaza Khan, Shah Wali and Arshad, from Hafizabad, Gujranwala and Swat.
The agents would have demanded between 2.5 million rupees and 3.5 million rupees of each passenger to facilitate their illegal trip to Europe.
The initial investigation revealed that passengers had traveled through Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Qatar before reaching Mauritania.
Upon their arrival in Mauritania, the agents tried to send them to Europe via the sea, but the passengers refused to undertake the risky trip and returned to Pakistan.
The agents, apparently from various parts of Punjab, are traced while the FIA continues its probe.
The passengers detained were given to the Karachi anti-human traffic circle for a more in-depth investigation.
The director of the FIA Karachi area said that a strict examination of travel documents was underway and that the action against human smuggling networks and their facilitators continue without discrimination.
Last week, a boat tragedy off the coast of Libya cost the life of 16 Pakistani nationals, with 37 survivors. The boat, carrying 65 people, capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, which caused an immediate response from the Pakistani Embassy to Tripoli to provide assistance and support to the survivors.
In addition, Foreign Office (FO) confirmed the identity of 13 Pakistanis who were one of the victims of a separate boat tragedy that occurred last month in waters between Mauritania and Morocco.
On January 16, the FO reported that the boat, which transported 80 passengers, capsized near Morocco, with more than 40 Pakistanis among the dreaded dead.
