Another organized gang involved in smuggling Pakistanis to Europe by sea has been exposed. Five passengers coming from abroad were questioned at Jinnah Terminal Airport.
According to the FIA spokesperson, during operations at Karachi Airport, immigration staff questioned five passengers who had reached Karachi from Senegal via Ethiopia. The passengers were identified as Iftikhar Ahmed, Naseer Ahmed, Rashid Farooq, Shamrez and Saqlain Murtaza.
According to the spokesperson, the passengers belong to Wazirabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujranwala and Sialkot. The said passengers arrived in Karachi from Mauritania via flight number TK 708.
According to the initial investigation, a passenger named Iftikhar Ahmed had gone to Senegal on a visit visa, a passenger named Saqlain Murtaza had gone to Mauritania via Dubai, while the other 3 passengers first reached Saudi Arabia on an Umrah visa and were later sent to Mauritania by an agent.
The spokesperson said that the passengers were in contact with human smugglers named Muhammad Afkhal and Ali Hassan to go to Europe. The agents are from Sialkot and Gujranwala. The said agents promised to transport the passengers to Spain legally for Rs 3.5 million each. However, upon reaching Mauritania, the agent tried to send the passengers to Europe illegally.
The passengers refused to travel illegally by sea and returned. The passengers were transferred to the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Karachi to identify the agents.
