9 hours Ago By STAFF REPORT
LAHORE - The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested five human-traffickers, including a child trafficker, in a major crackdown on illegal migration via sea routes during raids conducted in Gujranwala, Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin as part of the ongoing efforts to curb human smuggling. According to a spokesperson for the FIA, the arrested individuals were identified as Yasir Mehmood, Faisal Imran, Hassan Jahangir, Malik Ikhlaq and a wanted fugitive Muhammad Afzal. The suspects were involved in deceiving citizens with false job offers and illegally smuggling them to Europe.
Yasir Mehmood was found guilty of trafficking minors. He extorted Rs 2.4 million from the parents of a child, promising to send him to Europe via Libya.
The child tragically lost his life when the boat carrying him met an accident. Faisal Imran and Hassan Jahangir defrauded a citizen of Rs 2.2 million and US$3,000, promising employment in Spain.
They first sent the victim to Mauritania on a visit visa and later attempted to smuggle him to Spain via boat. The victim was refused illegal entry and he returned to Pakistan. The accused Malik Ikhlaq was arrested in Gujrat for charging Rs 3.
1 million from a citizen under the false pretense of providing employment in Germany. He attempted to smuggle the victim into Germany via Turkey. While accused Muhammad Afzal took Rs 574,000 from a woman, promising her a job in Germany but failed to send her abroad.
Use ‘Big Catch-Up’ to vaccinate children missed in polio drive, EOC urges dists Director FIA Gujranwala Zone Abdul Qadir Qamar said that operations against human traffickers had been intensified. “Those who play with innocent lives will be brought to justice,” said Qamar. He assured that strict legal action would be taken against the arrested traffickers, and the agency was actively working to dismantle human trafficking networks at an international level.
Tags: five arrested human.
