KARACHI: Five individuals attempting to travel illegally to Italy under the pretext of performing Umrah have been arrested, FIA officials confirmed.

According to an FIA spokesperson, immigration authorities intercepted the passengers—Raheedullah, Abdul Hameed, Abdul Shakoor, Ismail, and Ahmedullah—who were offloaded from their flight.

The individuals hail from Bannu, Peshawar, Khyber, and Mohmand districts. The five had planned to travel to Italy illegally through an agent in Saudi Arabia.

The spokesperson added that the passengers were on flight PA170 from Karachi to Jeddah on Umrah visas when they were flagged as suspicious during clearance checks.

Initial investigations revealed that the passengers were in contact with various agents in Peshawar. Their plan involved traveling from Saudi Arabia to Egypt and Libya, then reaching Italy via illegal maritime routes. Each passenger reportedly paid PKR 4.5 million to the agents, with an additional PKR 1.5 million per person to be paid upon arrival in Libya.

All five have been handed over to the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Karachi for further legal proceedings.