Visa scam exposed at Islamabad airport

ISLAMABAD:

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Immigration at Islamabad International Airport foiled a passenger's attempt to travel to Türkiye on a suspected fraudulent NGO/COP31 visa obtained through an agent for Rs1.15 million, uncovering an alleged plan to bribe immigration officials with Rs150,000 to secure travel clearance.

An official said the Islamabad Zone, the passenger was scheduled to travel to Türkiye on flight QR-615 but was offloaded after an immigration officer detected discrepancies in his travel documents and stated purpose of visit during routine immigration clearance.

The officer, using professional profiling techniques, identified inconsistencies in the passenger's documents and travel plans. The passenger failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for his intended visit to Türkiye and was referred for secondary profiling.

During further examination, a second-line immigration officer scrutinised the passenger's travel documents and mobile phones, revealing that he had allegedly obtained an NGO/COP31 visa through an agent after paying Rs1.15 million.

The agent had reportedly assured the passenger that he could undertake employment in Türkiye using the visa, despite such employment being contrary to the visa conditions.

Further investigation revealed that the passenger was not a member of the HOPE NGO, while WhatsApp conversations and mobile phone data provided evidence of his contact with the agent and the alleged plan to misuse the visa.

The inquiry also uncovered that the agent had allegedly instructed the passenger to offer Rs150,000 as a bribe to FIA immigration officials to obtain clearance, exposing an attempt to influence the immigration process through illegal means.

Following the detection of the irregularities, the passenger was offloaded and handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Islamabad for further investigation and legal action.