The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested an alleged human trafficker from Gujranwala whose name had been recommended for inclusion in the Red Book.
Officials said that the suspect, identified as Shahbaz Ahmad from Nowshera Virkan, was wanted in at least 16 cases and had absconded a long time.
A senior FIA official stated that Shahbaz had also been booked in two separate cases at the FIA’s Taftan Police Station in 2020 and 2022.
According to investigators, the suspect took Rs1 million from a complainant after promising to send his son to Italy but instead provided fake visas of Serbia and Indonesia.
Officials said that Shahbaz had been involved in human trafficking since 2010. During the trafficking process, several victims were allegedly subjected to physical abuse and inhumane treatment by the suspect and his accomplices.
The suspect was also allegedly involved in unlawfully detaining victims, assaulting them, and contacting their families to demand ransom for their release, which was collected through different channels.
In a separate operation in Lahore, the FIA arrested two suspects for their alleged involvement in hawala/hundi and illegal currency exchange.
The FIA Corporate Crime Circle conducted a raid in Eden City and arrested Muhammad Rizwan and Muhammad Adnan.
Officials said that the suspects were involved in hawala/hundi (informal, trust-based money transfer systems operating outside traditional banking regulations, frequently used for rapid, low-cost remittances) and illegal currency exchange, and Rs9.15 million was recovered from them.
A case has been registered against both suspects.
