GUJRAT:
The number of deportees from Libya and Greece convicted of attempting illegal immigration rose to 64 after a local court convicted another Gujranwala man on Thursday, as authorities continued their crackdown on human trafficking rings in central Punjab.
A special central judge in Gujranwala convicted an expellee under Section 17(1) of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979, which deals with illegal migration.
The court sentenced him to the period already served in police custody and imposed a fine of Rs50,000.
This latest conviction comes almost a month after around 200 Pakistanis, intercepted by Libyan authorities while trying to reach Italy by boat, were repatriated on two special flights with the help of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Among them, around 90 belonged to Gujranwala region, where the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) launched cases across its Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sialkot circles.
Over the past two weeks, special courts in Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sialkot have convicted 64 people deported in summary trials after admitting illegally crossing international borders.
Most of those found guilty were sentenced to prison terms of 10 to 15 days, as well as fines of between 25,000 and 50,000 rupees.
According to court decisions, the time already spent in police custody, generally between 10 and 15 days, was counted in the sentence, allowing the convicts to obtain their release after paying the fines imposed.
Those deported were among at least 200 Pakistanis detained by Libyan authorities as they tried to board boats bound for Italy.
Around 90 of the deportees belonged to the Gujranwala region. The FIA registered cases against them through its circles in Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sialkot before presenting them before the competent courts.
