Two suspected human traffickers held in crackdown

Two human traffickers have been apprehended by a team from the FIA Composite Circle during an operation on Sheikhupura Road on Saturday.

The operation resulted in the recovery of numerous passports and counterfeit visas. The accused individuals, Waqas and Sagheer Abbas, had been collecting large sums of money from individuals under the pretense of securing work visas for European countries.

Acting on the instructions of FIA Deputy Director Rana Shabbir Ahmed Khan, Sub-Inspector Syed Iram Raza Shah conducted the raid. It was discovered that the accused individuals promoted their services on social media to entice ordinary citizens seeking opportunities abroad. Mobile phone evidence, including videos, was obtained from Waqas, who revealed that he had been residing in Serbia for two years. He disclosed that he invited Pakistani and Indian citizens to Serbia and facilitated their illegal border crossings in exchange for substantial amounts of money. Waqas was recently deported from Serbia.

The accused Waqas used the illicit funds to purchase more than seven acres of land, shops, and vehicles, while his accomplice, Sagheer, employed a Hawala Hundi scheme to handle the money derived from human trafficking.

Incriminating Hawala Hundi messages were also discovered on the accused individual's mobile phone. FIA police have filed charges against the accused under the Foreign Regulation Act and Passport Act.

The court has granted a three-day physical remand of the two suspects associated with this notorious international gang.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2023.