SIALKOT: Under the National Action Plan, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has jazzed up the pace of its ongoing vigorous crackdown against illegal money changers and arrested several suspects besides seizing big amounts of local and foreign currencies.
Deputy Director FIA Gujranwala Ch Khalid Anees told Customs Today that an FIA team lead by Assistant Director Muhammad Sarwar raided Shafi Jewelers in Gujrat and arrested its owner Zulfiqar Ahmed for allegedly running illegal business there. The FIA also seized Rs 1 million in cash, 4,216 Saudi riyals, 2250 euros and 803 dollars, official documents, laptops from there.
He said that the suspect was indulged in transferring the huge amounts from Pakistan to abroad illegally, causing great financial losses to the government.
The FIA team also raided 786 Travels and Tours Agency in Chaand Plaza and arrested its owner-cum-human trafficker Gulshad Anjum for running illegal business of sending people abroad after getting big amounts from them. The FIA also recovered dozens of passports, fake official documents of several embassies, fake medical certificates, fake official stamps and embossing machines from there. The suspect was running his travel agency illegally without any prescribed license.
Deputy Director FIA Ch Khalid Anees said that taking stern action on the information provided by the arrested accused , who were deported to Sialkot from Turkey, the FIA also arrested an agent-turned- notorious human trafficker Afzal from Sialkot, who used to send people abroad, especially to Turkey after extorting big amounts from them.
He disclosed that the FIA also arrested human traffickers-turned-proclaimed offenders (POs) Ali Raza, Naveed Ahmed and Naveed Akbar from Gujrat and Gujranwala.
The FIA has registered separate cases against the suspects and sent them behind the bars.
