ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) on Sunday arrested eight human smugglers in connection with the Greece boat tragedy.
Last week, an Italy-bound fishing trawler reportedly carrying at least 800 people — including approximately 300 Pakistanis — capsized off Greece. Only 104 people are known to have survived and the chance of finding more survivors was seen as virtually nil.
An FIA official said in a statement that six people smugglers were detained for aiding the victims of the Greece boat tragedy in travelling illegally and that five cases had been filed against them.
He said that the suspects were taken into custody at Kallar Syedan, Jhang, and Peshawar. “In exchange for sending people to Europe illegally, they received millions of rupees.”
Tanveer Ahmed, Muhammad Yousuf, Junaid Mehmood, Muhammad Islam, Haider Ali, and Durran Khan were the smugglers according to the FIA. “They sent people to Libya and then off to Europe,” the agency continued.
The statement noted that after the men were recognised by the families of the victims, an investigation was opened against them.
In a later statement, the FIA reported that two other suspects, Imran and Muhammad Yahya, had been detained in Gujranwala and Sialkot, respectively.
According to the report, the individuals got Rs. 850,000 for helping to arrange the unlawful journeys of the victims to Europe via Iran and Turkey. “Cases have been registered against them,” the FIA continued.
Earlier, FIA Deputy Director Rana Shahid Habib formed raid teams in major cities for intelligence-based investigations to arrest human smugglers. He said the teams were constantly in touch with the aggrieved families.
