MM News

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has claimed to have apprehended a crucial human trafficker from Gujrat, Punjab, who was allegedly involved in sending people abroad. This was a significant accomplishment in the investigations pertaining to the Greece boat tragedy, in which around 100 people lost their lives, including Pakistanis.

At least 400 Pakistanis, 200 Egyptians and 150 Syrians, including around two dozen Syrian women and young children, were travelling on the trawler, according to the initial information shared by survivors of the shipwreck. However, authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of Pakistanis onboard the ship.

A day earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that a day of mourning would be observed today and the national flag would fly at half-mast. He also formed a four-member committee to probe the facts of the incident and directed law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to trace those involved in human smuggling.

In a statement released today, a spokesperson for the FIA said the agency’s Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Gujrat had apprehended a “key suspect” involved in the boat tragedy.

The spokesperson claimed that the detained suspect, agent Waqas Ahmed, had received payments totaling Rs2.3 million from each person in exchange for arranging their illegal travel to Greece, and that his possible involvement in the theft of money from other residents was also being investigation.

The captured suspect was from Wazirabad, according to the FIA. The agency also said that it was conducting raids to capture additional people who were engaged in human trafficking.

The spokesperson further said that three people including a “key suspect” allegedly involved in the incident had been apprehended.

The FIA said in a tweet Friday night that it has detained a suspect at Karachi Airport. Additionally, the suspect was previously named in a Libyan human smuggling case.

According to the report, the suspect, Sajid Mehmood, was apprehended as he attempted to flee to Azerbaijan after spending a few days in hiding.

The FIA continued, “Mehmood was a native of Mandi Bahauddin and had received a sum of Rs2.5m for the victims of the boat tragedy for their unauthorised journey to Europe.”