ISLAMABAD: In a nationwide crackdown, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested several individuals for their involvement in illegal currency exchange and human trafficking.
These operations, conducted in Karachi, Balochistan and Islamabad, have resulted in significant seizures of cash and the disruption of an international Hawala-Hundi network, a spokesman for the FIA Headquarters said Wednesday.
The FIA’s Commercial Bank Circle in Karachi arrested two suspects, Ashfaq and Yameen, from the Liaquat National Hospital and Sharafabad areas. The individuals were found with Rs7.2 million, three mobile phones and other evidence linked to illegal currency exchange. Authorities stated the suspects could not provide a valid explanation for the recovered funds.
Simultaneously, the FIA’s Commercial Bank Circle in Quetta apprehended two members of an organised international gang, Junaid and Abdul Razzaq, and recovered 33 million Iranian Rials and two mobile phones. The agency revealed that the suspects were part of an international Hawala-Hundi network, moving funds from Afghanistan, Dubai and Australia. The FIA is conducting raids to apprehend their accomplices in both cities.
In a separate incident at Islamabad Airport, the FIA Immigration department prevented a passenger from traveling on fraudulent documents. The individual, identified as Zaryab Ahmed from Sialkot, was attempting to fly to Portugal with a fake work visa on his passport.
He was immediately offloaded from the flight and handed over to the FIA’s Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Islamabad for further legal action.
