ISLAMABAD:
The Federal Investigation Company (FIA) continued its swoop towards human smugglers on Sunday because it rounded up two extra suspects allegedly liable for final week’s Greece boat tragedy.
The FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Cell in Gujranwala arrested the suspects, recognized as Muhammad Aslam and Saeed Ahmed, who’re a part of a global human smuggling racket.
In line with officers, Muhammad Aslam is immediately linked to the Greece boat incident. He had allegedly extorted a complete of Rs8.5 million from the victims for sending them to Europe by means of unlawful means.
The suspect, together with different gang members, initially facilitated the victims’ journey to Libya. Later, he tried to ship them to Greece through boat, throughout which the tragic accident occurred, leaving a number of victims lacking. They mentioned the FIA used subtle strategies to hint and arrest Aslam in Gujranwala.
In one other operation, one other human smuggler was arrested in Gujrat. This suspect was concerned in creating pretend journey paperwork and charged hefty quantities for these fraudulent providers.
The suspects are presently underneath investigation, and raids are ongoing to seize different members of the gang, the officers added.
FIA Gujranwala Zone Director Abdul Qadir Qamar mentioned on the directives of FIA Director Common Ahmed Ishaq Jehangir a crackdown has been intensified towards human smugglers.
Particular raid groups have been fashioned, and all assets are being utilized to carry the culprits to justice. Nobody will likely be allowed to hazard harmless lives, and strong proof will likely be used to make sure strict punishment for the accused, he mentioned.
On December 14, overseas media reported {that a} wood boat carrying migrants capsized off the island of Gavdos in southern Greece, killing a minimum of 5 Pakistanis.
In a separate incident, a Malta-flagged cargo vessel rescued 47 migrants from a ship crusing about 40 nautical miles off Gavdos, whereas a tanker rescued one other 88 migrants off the tiny island in Greece’s south.
After the incident, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed Inside Minister Mohsin Naqvi to submit an investigation report on the incident, directing him to determine and spherical up the traffickers and be certain that they get strict punishment for his or her heinous crimes.
PM Shehbaz urged that concrete measures be taken to forestall such incidents sooner or later.
“Human trafficking is a tragic crime that claims many lives and causes quite a few households to undergo yearly. Human traffickers are a merciless mafia who exploit the poor by deceiving them with false and bold desires,” he mentioned in a press assertion issued by the PM Home.
Whereas chairing a gathering in Islamabad on December 20, Shehbaz additionally directed strict motion towards the FIA officers concerned in facilitating human smugglers.