Human trafficking: Former constable, three others arrested
The anti-human trafficking wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested four suspects, including a former police constable, in two separate incidents on Tuesday and seized fake passports from their possession.
In the first incident, the FIA team raided a travel agent’s office in Melody Market in Sector G-6 and arrested Rahat Abbas and Iftikhar Hussain, who were allegedly sending people to Saudi Arabia on fake labour visas. Inspector Asghar Baloch of the FIA said they failed to produce any license to operate as travel agents.
The raiding team also seized four Pakistani passports and 60-70 copies of other passports from them. The suspects were produced before the court and remanded for two days.
An official of the raiding team said keeping someone else’s passport without a credible reason is illegal. “It is a common practice among human traffickers who arrange for people’s travel documents to send them abroad.”
In another incident, an FIA team arrested two suspects, including a former constable of the Islamabad police on the same charges. An FIA investigator said Muhammad Farooq had served in the police for three years and was dismissed from service a few months back due to his “illegal activities”. The other suspect was identified as Ijaz Mangrio.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 17th, 2012.
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