FIA busts trafficking network exploiting Pakistanis abroad

GUJRANWALA: Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested four suspects involved in the Morocco boat tragedy and in cases of torture and hostage-taking of Pakistani citizens abroad.

The FIA Gujranwala Zone carried out the operation and arrested three human traffickers among four accused, identified as Umar Hayat, Muhammad Sufyan, Muhammad Nauman, and Muhammad Usman. The suspects were apprehended from different areas of Hafizabad and Gujrat.

The unvestigations revealed that the accused lured citizens with promises of overseas employment and extorted millions of rupees.

Umar Hayat was directly involved in the Morocco boat accident. He took Rs. 8 million from a citizen named Ali Hassan, promising him a job in France, and attempted to send him to Europe via sea. The boat capsized, and the victim went missing.

Muhammad Sufyan and Muhammad Nauman defrauded another citizen of Rs. 8.75 million, under the pretense of securing employment in Canada. Instead, they sent the victim to Indonesia, where their associates held him hostage, tortured him, and demanded ransom. The victim was released only after a heavy payment and eventually returned to Pakistan.

Muhammad Usman swindled Rs. 1.1 million from a citizen, also under the false promise of Canadian employment, but failed to send him abroad and went into hiding.

FIA officials confirmed that all suspects are now under investigation and further inquiries are underway to trace their accomplices.