As part of the crackdown on the instructions of Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi, the Anti-Human Smuggling (AHS), FIA Lahore has arrested eight suspected criminals, including members of a human smuggling gang, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.
The suspects namely Hassan Javed, Faisal Shehzad, Shakil Masih, Kashif Shakil, Farhan Amir, Salman Younus Sheikh, Ali Jawad Arshad and Muhammad Arshad were arrested in raids carried out in different parts of the city.
According to the AHS officials, Hassan Javed, Faisal Shahzad and Shakil Masih were involved in sending innocent citizens abroad through illegal means and extorting millions of rupees from them.
They were arrested on a lead provided by a passenger who had been off-loaded from a plane for travelling with fake travel documents.
The officials said that the passenger had paid over Rs3.4 million to members of the gang who handed him fake documents to travel to Greece for a job.
One of the suspects had received Rs2.3 million from a citizen for sending him to Azerbaijan, while another extorted Rs0.6 million from another citizen on the pretext of sending him to the UAE for a job.
Similarly, another suspect received over Rs1.1 million from a man for the issuance of a visa for travelling to Serbia for a job.
Likewise, the officials informed one of the human smugglers extorted over Rs1.1 million from a man for sending him to Malaysia for a job.
Reporter: Irfan Malik