Jeddah-bound: Human smuggler, wife offloaded from plane

The suspect reportedly runs a travel agency in Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI: Immigration staff of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested a human trafficker and his wife at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport late Wednesday night, while they were trying to flee abroad.

The immigration staff said that the suspect Ehtashamul Haq, resident of Mardan, was “a notorious human smuggler”.

He and his wife were travelling by a Pakistan International Airline flight (PK-741) for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to perform Umra.

A statement issued by the FIA said that Haq and his wife Amina, an airhostess at the PIA, were offloaded from the plane and were taken into custody.

Haq is said to have been wanted by the FIA for his alleged involvement in human trafficking, and had already been declared a “proclaimed offender”.

He had been reportedly running a travel agency and a student consultancy firm “Kraker Consultants” at Chandni Chowk, Rawalpindi.

An official said that the man and his wife succeeded in crossing the immigration desk and boarded the Jeddah-bound flight.

The official, seeking anonymity, said that the plane started taxiing for takeoff, when the immigration staff stopped the plane and arrested the two passengers.

When the FIA Director, Inam Ghani, he was not available for comments at that moment.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2016.