The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Gujranwala Zone in an operation against human traffickers, arrested a suspect involved in international human smuggling.
A spokesperson for the FIA said that Composite Circle FIA Gujarat, on the tip-off, raided a secret godown and successfully arrested the ringleader of a gang involved in human trafficking. The accused was identified as Yasir Shoukat.
The suspect, along with other gang members, initially facilitated the victims’ travel to Saudi Arabia on Umrah visas. Later, he attempted to send them to Libya and Egypt and from where he tried to send them to Europe by a boat, during which the tragic accident occurred, leaving several victims missing.
During investigations, it transpired that the accused had received hefty amounts from the victims.
The team recovered seven Pakistani passports, 18 fake passports, nine Libya visa stickers and four copies of Umrah visas from the accused.
While eight Egyptian visas, 23 plane tickets and two mobile phones were also recovered from the suspect. Further investigation is under way to arrest the other accused, the spokesperson added.
