U.S indicts Pakistan based human smuggling operation

The United States Department of Treasury has designated a Nowshera-based travel agency as a Transnational Criminal Organisation, and indicted its three associates as facilitators.

In a statement from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Wednesday, it was revealed that the Abid Ali Khan TCO is "a human smuggling organisation based in Nowshera, Pakistan, that has facilitated the unlawful smuggling of foreign nationals into the United States” and other countries.

The statement added that those brought into the United States included "foreign nationals who may pose a national security risk to the United States or its interests".

It was also disclosed that this agency has been using various Latin American travel routes since 2015 to funnel people into the United States.

According to Andrea Gacki, Director of the OFAC, "The designation is an important step … towards disrupting (their) operations in Pakistan and around the world", adding that "The Abid Ali Khan TCO should not be allowed to prey on the vulnerable and take advantage of the US financial system.”

According to Acting United States Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid, “Abid Ali Khab allegedly organizes and leads a widespread smuggling organization that facilitates the illegal smuggling of individuals through various countries and to the United States".

The OFAC statement identified Pakistani national Abid Ali Khan as the “leader of a prolific human smuggling organization based in Nowshera,” Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This global network of human smugglers charges an average of $20,000 per individual.

The sum includes fees to procure fraudulent or counterfeit documents, make payoffs to corrupt officials, secure lodging along smuggling routes, and provide payments to facilitators in various countries.