KARACHI, Sept 17: The Federal Investigation Agency has unearthed a human smuggling racket responsible for the imprisonment of as many as 254 Pakistani job-seekers in Sri Lanka two months ago.

The jobseekers, mainly hailing from Gujrat, were taken into custody on July 1 during a joint raid on a ship by the Sri Lankan Navy and intelligence agencies.

Mohammed Malik, deputy director of the FIA’s Passport Circle, told newsmen in his offices that one of the ring members, who arranged ticketing for the imprisoned jobseekers, had been arrested on Wednesday by his staff.

He said the DG of the agency, Saiyed Mohib Asad, had ordered a thorough investigation into the racket and sent a senior official to Colombo after receiving the information about the arrested Pakistanis.

The FIA official said the Crime Investigation Department at Colombo was tipped about the involvement of a vessel, MV-Invisible, in the human smuggling from Sri Lanka to Italy. He said the ship, which was under the surveillance of the Lankan authorities, left the Lankan port on June 26 for Karachi. However, it proceeded towards southern coast and it was raided near Tangalle when the jobseekers were being shifted to the ship from boats.

Mr Malik said 254 Pakistanis, two Sri Lankan jobseekers, three owners of the boats, Russian captain of the ship, three Georgian crew members and a Sri Lankan agent were arrested in the raid on the MV Invisible.

He quoted the Sri Lankan CID investigators as telling that Mrs Martiya Ritta Fernando, a Sri Lankan, was the main operator in the human smuggling racket.

The FIA official said a sub-agent, Tanveer Ahmed, was arrested and he was still being interrogated.

During the preliminary interrogation, suspect Tanveer said the main agents in the racket were Arshad Mehmood, Jawaid Iqbal and Qaiser Mehmood, who were the owner of Umair Travel Agency in Gujrat.

The suspect, who was also produced before the newsmen, said Arshad Mehmood and Jawaid Iqbal sent people to Greece via Sri Lanka, Cairo, Larnaka (Cyprus). He said the jobseekers paid Rs350,000 to Rs400,000 each for reaching abroad.

He said the passports of the intending illegal emigrants were sent to the Shamsi Travel in Karachi, which issued tickets for them.

The suspect said after boarding the jobseekers on ship at Colombo for Greece, Jawaid Iqbal left for Greece to receive them.

The FIA deputy director said the gang is believed to have smuggled over 4,400 people since 1998. He said the FIA had also raided the offices of the Shamsi Travel.