Greece boat tragedy: Notorious smuggler among five arrested

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested five suspects including a notorious human trafficker allegedly involved in the Greece boat tragedy, ARY News reported.

The operation was carried out by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Gujrat, Gujranwala, Sialkot, and Mandi Bahauddin.

According to FIA Director Abdul Qadir Qamar, one of the arrested smugglers, Abdul Majeed, had allegedly taken 4.2 million rupees from a citizen named Fahad to smuggle him into Greece. Fahad has been reported missing since the ship incident

The arrested smugglers are accused of deceiving people and extorting large sums of money in exchange for illegal passage to foreign countries.

Earlier, an investigation committee probing the recent Greece boat tragedy revealed the involvement of 31 officials of the FIA

The committee decided to place the names of FIA officers, including inspectors, sub-inspectors, and constables in the Passport Control List (PCL).

Read More: PM Shehbaz orders arrest of all human traffickers in a week

According to sources, 19 FIA officers from Faisalabad Airport, three from Sialkot Airport, two from Lahore Airport, two from Islamabad Airport, and five from Quetta Airport have been implicated in the scandal.

The FIA has decided to put the names of all 31 officers on the passport control list, effectively banning them from traveling abroad.

The investigation, which is still ongoing, has revealed that the 31 officers were involved in smuggling people onto the ship that sank off the coast of Greece, resulting in significant loss of life.

At least five Pakistanis who were being smuggled died in the Greece boat tragedy.