FIA arrests Gujranwala suspect wanted in 16 human trafficking cases

GUJRAT: The Federal Investigation Agency has arrested a suspected human trafficker from Gujranwala whose name had been proposed for inclusion in the red book, according to a senior FIA official.

The official said the arrested man, identified as Shahbaz Ahmad of Noshehra Virkan, Gujranwala, had been declared an absconder and had remained at large for a long period. He was wanted in at least 16 cases, the official added.

According to the FIA official, two more cases had also been registered against him by the FIA’s Taftan Police Station in 2020 and 2022.

The official said Shahbaz had taken Rs1 million from a complainant on the promise of sending his son to Italy, but instead provided fake visas of Serbia and Indonesia.

He has been involved in human trafficking since 2010, the official said. During this illegal activity, several victims were allegedly subjected to physical abuse and inhumane treatment by the suspect and his associates.

The FIA official further said the accused would unlawfully confine victims, torture them, and then contact their families to demand ransom for their release. The money, the official said, was collected through different channels.

Two held in Lahore over hawala, hundi and illegal currency exchange

In a separate development in Lahore, the FIA arrested two suspects on charges related to hawala, hundi and illegal currency exchange.

The arrests were made during a raid by the FIA Corporate Crime Circle in Eden City, where officials took Muhammad Rizwan and Muhammad Adnan into custody.

According to the FIA, the two men were involved in hawala, hundi and illegal currency exchange, and Rs9.15 million was recovered from them.

A case has been registered against the suspects. The developments were reported in separate FIA actions in Gujrat and Lahore published on April 29, 2026.