FIA offloads Saudi-bound passenger at Karachi Airport over fake driving licence

KARACHI: Immigration authorities at Karachi Airport offloaded a Saudi Arabia–bound passenger after his Heavy Transport Vehicle (HTV) driving licence was found to be fake, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said on Saturday.

According to the FIA spokesperson, the passenger, Muhammad Asif, was traveling to Saudi Arabia on an international flight for employment as a truck driver.

During immigration checks, he presented an HTV licence purportedly issued by the Clifton licensing branch, which was later confirmed to be forged.

The spokesperson said the passenger admitted he had obtained the fake licence through an agent for Rs 127,000, and further disclosed that he had never visited the Clifton licensing branch himself.

FIA officials said the agent had prepared and provided the counterfeit licence to the passenger. Following the discovery, Muhammad Asif was handed over to the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle for further legal action.

Earlier, Pakistan Customs foiled an attempt to smuggle a significant quantity of gold and foreign currency at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, resulting in the arrest of two sisters.

According to a spokesperson for Pakistan Customs, during profiling and thorough checking, officials from the Customs Collectorate intercepted two women. Upon inspecting their luggage, authorities recovered over 3 kilograms of gold ornaments and foreign currency $11,619.

The suspects were identified as Amaal and Manal Khan.

Customs officials reported that 2 kilograms of gold and 6,143 US dollars were seized from the luggage of Amaal, while more than 1 kilogram of gold and 5,476 US dollars were recovered from Manal’s belongings.

The total estimated value of the confiscated gold and foreign currency is more than Rs110 million, according to Customs.

Following the initial investigation, an FIR has been registered under the Customs Act, and both women have been taken into custody as further inquiries continue.