FIA secures record convictions in human trafficking cases, arrests 16 in fresh crackdown

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Gujranwala Zone has claimed a major breakthrough against human trafficking

GUJRANWALA: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Gujranwala Zone has claimed a major breakthrough against human trafficking networks, securing unprecedented convictions in trafficking cases while arresting 16 more suspects during a fresh crackdown on human smuggling, money laundering, illegal foreign exchange and corruption.
According to FIA Director Muhammad Bin Ashraf, the agency secured convictions against 164 accused during the first six months of 2026, marking one of the strongest prosecution performances by the Gujranwala Zone against organised human trafficking.
He said courts awarded 22-year imprisonment each to convicted human traffickers Aslam Mayo, Sarwar Sindhu, Nadeem Mayo and Rauf, describing the verdicts as the first of their kind against traffickers operating in the Gujranwala Division, long considered a hub of illegal human smuggling.
The director said Muhammad Sajjad was sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment, while Saghir Hussain received 10 years in jail in separate human trafficking cases. Besides imprisonment, courts also imposed Rs16.5 million in fines on convicted traffickers.
He further said FIA recovered a record Rs880.96 million during investigations and prosecutions carried out by its Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sialkot circles.
Meanwhile, the FIA Gujranwala Zone arrested 16 suspects in its latest province-wide crackdown. Those held include four proclaimed offenders wanted in human trafficking cases, a money launderer allegedly linked with hawala networks, two postal employees accused of corruption, an illegal foreign currency dealer and several other suspects.
According to the FIA, investigations revealed that arrested suspect Suleman Shabbir allegedly received money generated through human trafficking into multiple bank accounts before transferring it to traffickers through hawala channels. Further investigation is underway.
The agency said the arrested human traffickers had allegedly deceived citizens by promising jobs in Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Iraq and other countries, collecting large sums of money from victims.
In one case, investigators found that a victim was sent to Cambodia, where he was allegedly sold to a Chinese-operated online scam compound and forced into labour before managing to escape and return to Pakistan.
The FIA said suspects collected Rs11.845 million from victims in various cases, while another complainant was allegedly defrauded of 2,000 euros.
In a separate operation, the FIA arrested two employees of Kamoke Post Office for allegedly concealing an official forensic report related to a murder case to benefit an accused. A case has been registered against them under FIR No. ACC-07/2026, and further investigation is in progress.
The FIA Sialkot Circle also arrested Azam Hussain for allegedly operating an illegal foreign currency exchange business. Officials said local and foreign currency was recovered from his possession, and he allegedly admitted to running the unlawful business during interrogation.
The FIA said its Gujranwala Circle made 12 arrests, including four proclaimed offenders, a money launderer and two postal employees, while the Sialkot Circle arrested four suspects, including two human traffickers and an illegal currency dealer.
The agency reiterated that operations against human trafficking, visa fraud, illegal immigration, money laundering, hawala and corruption would continue without discrimination and advised citizens to use only licensed Overseas Employment Promoters (OEPs) for overseas employment opportunities.