FAISALABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Immigration successfully thwarted an attempt to illegally travel to Europe under the guise of Umrah, offloading four passengers at Faisalabad Airport.

According to FIA officials, the passengers — identified as Muhammad Muzammil, Muhammad Osama, Muhammad Tahir, and Muhammad Muneeb — were traveling on flight FZ392 to Saudi Arabia on Umrah visas. During immigration clearance, they were found suspicious.

The initial investigations revealed that the passengers had planned to travel onward to Libya and later attempt to illegally reach Europe via sea routes. The officials disclosed that the group had previously tried to leave the country through Karachi Airport as well.

The suspects were reportedly in contact with an agent named Naveed-ul-Hassan. Evidence retrieved from their mobile phones confirmed plans of illegal sea travel to Europe.

The passengers were handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Faisalabad for further investigation and identification of the agent involved.

Earlier, The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested 60 individuals attempting to illegally travel to Iran via sea routes.

According to an FIA spokesperson, the detainees were apprehended from Jiwani during an operation. The arrested persons include nine from Gujranwala, 19 from Malakand, 16 from Bannu, nine from Lower Dir, three from Upper Dir, and two from Mardan.

The spokesperson said that four separate cases have been registered against the accused, and investigations are underway.