Two suspected human traffickers nabbed by FIA

Crackdown on suspects attempting to secure UK visa via bogus means

RAWALPINDI:

The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Anti-Human Trafficking Cell has arrested a suspect who allegedly obtained a UK visa by preparing a fake marriage certificate from Islamabad.

According to FIA sources, the accused is a key operative of a human trafficker group. Raids were being conducted to arrest his accomplices.

An FIA spokesperson said a crackdown against human traffickers was ongoing on the instructions of the Director of Islamabad Zone. Under the supervision of Deputy Director Kamran Amir Khan, the accused involved in human trafficking, Muhammad Zaman, was arrested from Sector F-8 of Islamabad.

“The accused is a key operative of a group that smuggles citizens abroad. The accused, with the help of associates, created a fake marriage certificate in the name of a woman residing in the UK and succeeded in obtaining a UK visa,” the spokesperson explained. “The raiding team included SHO Shams Gondal, Inspector Sarwat Durrani, ASI Niaz Mir and Constable Kashfur Rehman,” he added.

The FIA spokesperson said an investigation was launched while efforts were under way to arrest the accomplices of the arrested suspect.

In another raid, the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle arrested a suspect involved in illegally sending citizens to Europe under the guise of an Umrah visa. Accused Moazzam Iqbal also extorted Rs6.5 million from a citizen by deceiving him to send him to Spain.

According to the spokesperson, the accused was arrested in a raid under the supervision of Deputy Director Saim Sultan. The accused gave a fake visa to Spain to the victim. The affected citizen had tried to go to Spain from Saudi Arabia on a fake visa.

The FIA has registered separate cases against the arrested suspects and they will be produced in the court for seeking physical remand.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2024.