Two 'human traffickers' land behind bars

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested two suspects, including the leader of a gang allegedly involved in the abduction and torture of a Pakistani citizen in Turkey.

According to officials, the crackdown on human trafficking was carried out under the directives of FIA Director General Ahmed Ishaq Jahangir.

The FIA's Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Abbottabad conducted a raid in Haripur, arresting two "notorious human traffickers, Muhammad Shehzad and Ghulam Farooq".

Officials said Shehzad was on the most-wanted list for human smuggling and was identified as a partner of Zahid Khan, another trafficker operating in Turkey. Shehzad, along with his accomplices, sent a Pakistani citizen to Turkey, where he was held hostage and brutally tortured.

Reports indicate that the traffickers went as far as pulling out the victim's fingernails while demanding ransom from his family.

The gang lured unsuspecting individuals with promises of employment abroad, only to hold them captive upon arrival.

Ghulam Farooq, one of the arrested suspects, was running an unlicensed travel agency. Authorities recovered three passports and other evidence from the suspects, who were also found guilty of defrauding people out of millions of rupees.