SIALKOT: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has launched a vigorous crackdown against students’ visa consultants-turned-travel agents and arrested as many as 11 human traffickers, including the heads of two students consultancy institutions in Gujranwala Division.
Deputy Director FIA Gujranwala Division Ch Khalid Anees told Customs Today that the special commando teams of the FIA, led by senior officials, conducted raids at various students visa consultancy institutes and travel agencies, which were directly or indirectly involved in human trafficking and extorting big amounts from the innocent people.
The FIA team raided Haji Travels in Gujrat and arrested suspected human trafficker Yousaf and recovered three Pakistani passports, fake official stamps and fake official documents from there. Besides, the FIA arrested two notorious human traffickers Qamar Sajjad and Muhammad Nawaz during a raid at Emaan Travels Dinga-Gujrat.
In Sialkot, the FIA teams raided at Arab Emirates Training Center Sialkot, International Travels Sialkot and Higher Travels Sialkot and arrested three notorious human traffickers — Abdul Manan, Zeeshan Imtiaz and Muhammad Arshad. The FIA also recovered nine passports, colour photocopies of UAE visas, fake banks’ statements, fake stamps, embossing machines and official documents of different embassies in Pakistan.
Deputy Director FIA Ch Khalid Anees added that the accused were running an illegal business of sending the innocent people abroad, especially European, African and Gulf countries illegally in the guise of their travel agencies and students visas consultancy institutes. The FIA has sent the accused behind the bars after registering separate cases against them. Further investigations are underway.
