Human trafficking bid foiled

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)'s immigration staff foiled an attempt to smuggle individuals under the guise of Umrah visas at Islamabad International Airport on Saturday.

An alleged facilitator, along with 13 passengers, was intercepted and offloaded from a Saudi Arabia-bound flight before being detained for questioning. The suspects were allegedly planning to travel onward to Libya and then Italy from Saudi Arabia.

An FIA spokesperson revealed that the group was traveling on flight no 807 of a private airline when immigration officers, acting on suspicion, stopped them. During interrogation, evidence was discovered on their mobile phones linking them to agents.

Further investigations revealed that their final destination was Italy, via Libya.

The detained individuals were identified as Ehtisham, Adil, Shehryar, Ali Hamza, Murad, Sulaiman, Hayatullah, Bilal, Sakhawat, Waseem Abbas, Shahzad, Aamir Sohail, Waqif Khan, and facilitator Asad Iqbal. They hail from various regions, including Peshawar, Attock, and Sialkot.

The investigation also uncovered that the group had been in contact with a central agent, Samir Qayyum, who is based in Libya. The accused had paid significant sums of money to various agents to facilitate their illegal journey from Libya to Italy.