FIA claims major arrest in trafficking case

The anti-human trafficking cell of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said on Sunday it had arrested two key suspects part of an international network involved the in the trafficking of 35 Pakistani nationals from China to Hong Kong.

According to the officials, the Pakistani citizens were detained by Chinese law enforcement agencies, who then informed the Pakistani authorities about the matter. Upon this, the Prime Minister's Secretariat tasked the case to the FIA.

An FIA team led by a deputy director, Saim Sultan, detained five passengers who crossed the border illegally to return to Pakistan. They provided the information that helped the investigators identify one suspect, Asif Mehmood.

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The agency found suspicious transactions of large amounts made from his bank account, which has since been blocked, an official said.

The suspect was said to be in China at the time, with the FIA flagging his name to the relevant authorities. He was detained upon his return to Pakistan.

During interrogation, according to an agency official, he identified his collaborator, who was arrested from Islamabad.

Several passports, laptops and other documents were recovered from their possession, the official said. The accused also had a shell company.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2023.