Islamabad: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Immigration team at Islamabad International Airport foiled a major human smuggling attempt by offloading five passengers who were trying to travel to Hong Kong on visit visas via Thailand.
According to the FIA spokesperson, the passengers included Bushra, Amjad Ali, Alizay Shahin, Muhammad Adnan, and Zeeshan Ali Khan. Investigations revealed that only Amjad Ali was the real son of Bushra, while the others were falsely shown as her children in official records to facilitate their travel abroad.
Initial inquiry found that families of the fake children had paid Rs. 15 million each to an agent, who manipulated NADRA records to list them as part of Ejaz Ali’s family and registered their address in Swabi. In reality, the three passengers hailed from Sargodha, Attock, and Khushab.
The FIA further disclosed that an official of the Pakistan Airport Authority, suspected of facilitating the passengers at the airport, has also been taken into custody. Authorities are now expanding the investigation to include officials from NADRA and the passport office who may have played a role in the forgery.
The five suspects have been handed over to the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Islamabad for further legal action.
