FIA foils major human smuggling bid at Karachi airport, 8 arrested

KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday foiled an attempt to smuggle passengers abroad by sea, ARY News reported.

The FIA’s action at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport resulted in the arrest of eight people. The passengers were allegedly planning to travel illegally to Albania by sea.

According to the FIA, the passengers had paid a whopping Rs 1 million to the human smugglers. An FIA spokesman stated that the agency took custody of the agents and facilitators based on the identification provided by the passengers.

The FIA confirmed that the arrested agents were operating an organized human smuggling network.

The FIA further stated that the arrested agents belonged to different areas of Gujrat.

The FIA spokesman added that other accomplices of the gang were also running a human smuggling network from Saudi Arabia and Greece.

Fake airline tickets, foreign currencies (Euros, Dollars, and Iranian Riyals) were recovered from the possession of the passengers, the FIA said.

Yesterday, the Pakistan government has sacked Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials for negligence in the Greece boat tragedy.

As per details, the Ministry of Interior has dismissed an FIA Deputy Director along with three Assistant Directors, from service.

A Deputy Director and two Assistant Directors posted at Karachi Airport have been removed after negligence was proven. An Assistant Director at Faisalabad Airport has also been dismissed on similar grounds.

At Multan Airport, a Deputy Director has been demoted for three years—both in position and salary—over alleged links with human smugglers.

Two senior investigators have been dismissed for poor investigation, while an Assistant Database Administrator has been terminated due to negligence.

Additionally, four Assistant Directors and an Inspector have been penalized with a reduction in basic salary for one to three years due to absenteeism, negligence, and substandard investigations.

An Assistant Director and an Inspector at Islamabad Airport have been issued censure for mishandling a detainee.

The Federal Secretary Interior has rejected reinstatement appeals of six Sub-Inspectors, one ASI, three Head Constables, and five Constables.

The dismissal of an LDC for absenteeism has also been upheld.

However, the punishment of withheld promotion for a Superintendent and a Sub-Inspector has been modified to a censure, according to the FIA spokesperson.