FIA arrests five alleged human traffickers in Gujranwala

GUJRAT: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said on Tuesday that it had arrested five alleged human traffickers, including a proclaimed offender, during operations carried out across the Gujranwala region.

According to an FIA spokesman, four of the suspects — Ghulam Murtaza, Ashiq Hussain, Zohaib and Shafi — are accused of cheating people by promising to send them abroad and collecting at least Rs8.6 million from different complainants.

The spokesman said Murtaza alone had taken Rs3.8 million from one man for arranging his travel to Italy, but neither fulfilled the commitment nor returned the money.

He added that the suspects had obtained money from people on the pretext of sending them to Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Arrests made by FIA circles

The arrests were made by the FIA circles in Gujranwala and Sialkot, the spokesman said.

In a separate development, the FIA also arrested Qaiser Abbas, a suspected human smuggler who had been declared a proclaimed offender.

The agency has registered cases against the suspects and begun investigations, according to the spokesman.

The action was described by the FIA as part of its crackdown in the Gujranwala region against people allegedly involved in human trafficking and related fraud.

The spokesman said the arrested men were accused of taking money from individuals by offering to arrange overseas travel, but failing to deliver on those promises. The alleged destinations cited in the cases included several European and Gulf countries.

Officials said the cases had now been formally lodged and further investigation was under way to examine the allegations against the suspects.

The FIA statement identified one of the five men, Qaiser Abbas, as a proclaimed offender already wanted by authorities. The other four men were named in connection with complaints involving payments made for overseas employment or travel arrangements.

The agency did not provide further details beyond the amounts cited by the spokesman and the countries mentioned in the complaints. However, it said the inquiry process had been initiated after the registration of cases against all the arrested suspects.

The arrests were announced in an official account given by the FIA spokesman, who said the operations were conducted in different parts of the Gujranwala region by teams from the Gujranwala and Sialkot circles.

The agency said the suspects were allegedly involved in deceiving citizens seeking to travel abroad and collecting large sums of money in return for promised arrangements that were not fulfilled.

Further legal proceedings will follow the ongoing investigation, according to the FIA.