Five passengers stopped at Lahore airport over alleged illegal migration bid

LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency on Thursday said it offloaded five passengers at Allama Iqbal International Airport who were attempting to travel through Malaysia onward to Timor-Leste and New Zealand.

According to an FIA spokesperson, the move followed secondary inspection of one passenger, during which officials found material indicating what the agency described as an organised illegal migration arrangement. The spokesperson said the inquiry led to the identification of four other passengers allegedly linked to the same network.

"An attempt to smuggle passengers to Timor-Leste and New Zealand via Malaysia was foiled on Thursday at Lahore airport,” the spokesperson said.

He added that a facilitator based in Malaysia was running the human smuggling network. According to the FIA, each of the passengers had allegedly paid Rs5 million under the arrangement and had been told they would receive further travel documents after reaching Malaysia.

The FIA said all five passengers were taken off the flight and handed over to its Anti-Human Trafficking Circle for legal action.

Complaint in separate human smuggling case

In a separate development, a complainant in a human smuggling case alleged that an FIA investigator had threatened to involve her in the same case.

The FIA anti-human trafficking cell in Lahore has registered a case against Ghulam Murtaza, Nisar Adam and Ali Akbar over allegations that they received Rs6.2m from complainant Nighat Shahzadi and her relatives after promising to send them to Saudi Arabia on domestic worker visas.

According to the FIR, the complainant was sent to Saudi Arabia on an Umrah visa, where she was allegedly harassed and forced into illegal work before returning to Pakistan. The FIR states that during the inquiry the accused were found guilty. It also says that the main suspect, Ghulam Murtaza, has been arrested.

Nighat Shahzadi said the investigating officer, instead of assisting her, was threatening to implicate her in the case. She said the suspect should be fully investigated and that the FIA should ensure the money taken from the victims is recovered and returned.