Raid: FIA arrests suspected human smuggler

Said to be involved in sending 20 Afghan nations to UK on forged documents.

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday arrested a suspect involved in sending people abroad on forged documents.

The suspect, who was arrested from Peshawar along with fake stamps, papers and passports, is said to have arranged for 20 Afghan nationals to travel to the UK from Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) with bogus documents. He was identified as Ijaz Khan.

FIA Regional Director Inam Ghani told The Express Tribune that Afghan passports, fake stamps, and stamped papers were also seized during the raid on Khan’s office.

“He prepared forged documents for 20 Afghan nationals, and got them cleared from FIA counters at BBIA to fly to the UK,” Ghani said.

A court has handed the suspect over to FIA on remand.

The 20 Afghan nationals had travelled to the UK through PIA flight PK785 in September last year and British authorities arrested 10 of them at the Heathrow airport in London.

British immigration authorities had raised the issue with the Interior Ministry. The episode had called FIA performance and its involvement in human smuggling into question.

The ministry also announced to introduce an integrated border management system after the incident though it has not yet been implemented.

Ghani claimed that steps have been taken to curb the illegal activity and that the FIA is carrying out raids against suspected traffickers.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2015.