FIA arrests eight in visa fraud, human smuggling and copyright cases

LAHORE/TOBA TEK SINGH: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested eight suspects in separate operations linked to visa fraud, human smuggling and copyright violations in Lahore, Sialkot, Multan and Faisalabad, according to an FIA spokesperson.

The spokesperson said Abbas Salheri, Liaqat Ali and Muhammad Asif Butt were taken into custody from different areas of Lahore and Sialkot in cases related to visa fraud.

According to the FIA, Abbas Salheri is accused of taking Rs4.6 million from a citizen on the promise of arranging a Turkish work visa. Liaqat Ali allegedly received Rs3.1 million from a citizen after offering to secure a Canadian work visa, while Muhammad Asif Butt is accused of defrauding a citizen of Rs200,000 by claiming he could arrange a Malaysian work visa.

The FIA said Butt had been wanted by FIA Lahore since 2014.

Copyright violation case in Lahore

In a separate action, the FIA Corporate Crime Circle arrested three men — Imran Khan, Naveed and Muhammad Ahmad — in Lahore over alleged violations of the Copyright Act.

The arrests were made during a raid in Shah Alam Market, where officials recovered a large quantity of counterfeit products bearing the names of well-known registered companies, the spokesperson said.

According to the FIA, the suspects were involved in the manufacture, storage and sale of fake products associated with registered companies.

Human smuggling cases in Multan and Faisalabad

In Multan, the FIA arrested an alleged human smuggler from Lodhran in a case involving an overseas employment visa scam.

The Anti-Human Trafficking Circle (AHTC) Multan carried out the raid under the supervision of Deputy Director Hammadur Rahman and arrested proclaimed offender Azhar Iqbal in connection with FIR No. 111/2026.

The FIA said Azhar Iqbal allegedly took Rs450,000 from the complainant for arranging a foreign job visa but did not provide the promised documents. The agency added that the suspect had been absconding and was wanted in the case. Further investigation is underway.

Separately, the FIA Composite Circle in Dera Ghazi Khan recovered Rs2.8 million in another human trafficking-related case registered under FIR No. 109/2026 AHTC. According to the spokesperson, the recovered amount was returned to the complainant.

Meanwhile, FIA Faisalabad arrested another suspect in a human trafficking case. The accused was identified as Badar Munir Abbas, a resident of D-Type Iron Market, Faisalabad.

During the investigation, officials recovered two Pakistani passports from his possession. A case was registered against him under Sections 17 and 22 of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979, along with Section 6 of the Passport Act, 1974.

Initial investigation, according to the FIA, showed that the suspect allegedly extorted Rs1.3 million from a citizen, Shahzeb Ahmad, on the pretext of arranging a job in Scotland.