FIA offloads, detains numerous passengers for illegal Europe travel bid

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday offloaded and held many passengers for illegally trying to travel to Europe, as the agency intensifies crackdown on human smuggling.

The development comes days after Federal Interior and Narcotics Control Minister Mohsin Naqvi assured that no passenger with complete travel documents was being stopped from travelling, nor would they be stopped in the future.

The minister said this on December 2 while dismissing reports about passenger offloading and hurdles being faced for immigration at the airport.

However, Minister Naqvi had warned that passengers with incomplete or bogus documents would absolutely not be allowed to travel, said the ministry.

In a series of press releases, the federal crime investigation body said it had foiled attempts by many passengers to illegally move to Europe.

The FIA arrested five Pakistani citizens at the Lahore airport upon their deportation from Sharjah for attempting to travel to the United Kingdom using bogus British visas.

The suspects, identified as Waqar Anjum, Tayyab Iftikhar, Ali Shan, Malik Zaheer, and Malik Zeeshan, were taken into custody as soon as they arrived in Pakistan.

According to FIA officials, the passengers had initially travelled from Lahore to Malaysia on legitimate visit visas earlier this year. However, their subsequent attempt to reach the UK from Sharjah utilised counterfeit documents, which were reportedly acquired with the assistance of agents.

Naqvi assures no traveller with complete documents being stopped at airport

Following their deportation, the suspects have been transferred to the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Lahore for further investigation into the human smuggling network.

Separately, the FIA Immigration wing at the Islamabad airport conducted a major operation, successfully foiling an attempt to travel to Europe using fraudulent documents.

The FIA offloaded a passenger, identified as Ahmad Raza, who was attempting to travel to France via flight number PK-749.

During the immigration clearance process, the passenger’s documents were flagged as suspicious. A subsequent check confirmed that the Poland Resident Card presented by Raza was counterfeit.

The passenger was immediately detained and transferred to the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Islamabad for further legal proceedings.

In another incident, the FIA Immigration wing at the Lahore airport successfully foiled an attempt to travel abroad using a fake identity, leading to the arrest of a man who was using his brother’s passport.

The passenger, identified as Mehran Ahmed from Gujranwala, was offloaded from flight number QR-629 while attempting to travel to Spain.

During immigration clearance, the FIA noted that the passenger’s facial features did not match the photo on the passport. The subsequent investigation revealed a deliberate act of fraud.

The accused confessed that, despite being a resident of Spain himself, he had utilised the online passport renewal system to place his brother’s photo on his own current passport. He planned to use the altered document later to illegally smuggle his brother to Spain.

The FIA immediately offloaded and arrested the suspect for attempting to travel on a passport with a false identity. He has been handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Lahore for further legal action.

The FIA spokesperson added that effective screening, including biometric and photo verification of online renewed passports, remains operational at all airports to prevent travel attempts involving impersonation or fraudulent identities.

FIA rejects ‘misleading’ social media claims on passenger off-loading

The FIA Immigration wing at the Lahore airport arrested another passenger immediately upon his deportation after he attempted to illegally enter Europe by misusing his Umrah trip as a cover for human trafficking.

The accused, identified as Khurram Shahzad, had travelled to Jeddah last month with his mother via flight number PK-714 to perform Umrah.

After his mother returned to Pakistan, Shahzad remained in Saudi Arabia where he met a cousin/agent who provided him with a passport and a Spain Residence Card under the name of Junaid Ali.

Using the documents of this fake identity, Shahzad departed for Baku, Azerbaijan, on December 3, using a newly acquired Azerbaijan visa. From Baku, he attempted to travel to Italy via international airlines.

The elaborate attempt failed during transit in Istanbul, where immigration authorities flagged him as an imposter and subsequently deported him back to Pakistan.

The FIA arrested Shahzad upon his arrival and transferred him to the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Lahore for legal proceedings related to illegal movement, fake identity, and misuse of travel documents.

The FIA spokesperson added that the agency is maintaining strict profiling of young passengers traveling for Umrah, especially those accompanied by women, to prevent the use of religious pilgrimages as a disguise for illegal immigration attempts.

Meanwhile, the FIA has issued a nationwide warning cautioning citizens against fake Information Technology (IT) job offers in Southeast Asian countries, stating that what appears to be a “dream job abroad” can quickly turn into a nightmare of forced criminal activity.

The FIA alert stresses that victims are being lured overseas and subsequently trapped and coerced into committing online crimes.

The agency strongly urged the public to exercise extreme caution when responding to international job advertisements and asked citizens to report any suspicious recruiters immediately to the authorities.

Citizens can contact the FIA through its dedicated helpline: 1991, it said.