SAHIWAL: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday arrested a suspected human trafficker accused of defrauding citizens by promising overseas employment opportunities on Dubai work visas.
According to FIA officials, the suspect, identified as Qurban Ali, was arrested by the FIA Composite Circle Sahiwal during a crackdown against human traffickers and illegal overseas employment agents.
Investigators said the accused allegedly operated an illegal overseas employment business without obtaining the required government authorization or a valid Overseas Employment Promoter (OEP) licence.
During the investigation, it emerged that the suspect had fraudulently obtained hundreds of thousands of rupees from a citizen after promising to arrange a Dubai work visa. However, after receiving the money, he failed to fulfill his promise and went into hiding.
The FIA registered a case against the suspect under relevant provisions of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979, and subsequently arrested him in a targeted operation conducted by Inspector Ali Raza and his team.
Officials said further investigations are underway to identify other members of the network and determine whether additional victims were defrauded through the scheme.
The operation was carried out by FIA Composite Circle Sahiwal under the directives of Faisalabad Zone Director Saqib Sultan and the supervision of Deputy Director Muhammad Hashim Raza as part of ongoing efforts against human trafficking and illegal overseas employment agents.
The FIA urged the public to seek overseas employment opportunities only through licensed Overseas Employment Promoters and to immediately report any cases of fraud, human trafficking, or illegal recruitment activities to the agency.