KARACHI, Nov 29: An anti-corruption court on Tuesday sentenced a human trafficker to total 20 years in prison.

The court found Sikandar Mahmood guilty of fraudulently inducing to emigrate, receiving money for providing foreign employment and keeping fake documents. Special Judge Syed Pir Ali Shah of the Federal Anti-Corruption and Emigration Court pronounced his verdict after recording evidence of witnesses and final arguments from both sides.

The court handed down a total 17-year imprisonment under Section 18(a) and 22(b) of the Emigration Ordinance and three-year imprisonment under Section 6-1 (III) of the Passport Act.

A total of Rs1.5 million fine was also imposed on the convict and in case of default he would have to undergo an additional five-year imprisonment.

The court ruled that the sentences would run concurrently.

According to the prosecution, the accused had fraudulently collected Rs150,000 each from five men — Mohammad Khalid, Tahir, Abu-Bakar, Mohammad Zafar and Ghulam Yasin — in order to send them to Dubai. But he failed to honour his commitment.

The anti-human trafficking cell of the Federal Investigation Agency arrested the accused from his office in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on July 7 and also recovered fake passports and other documents from his workplace and registered a case (FIR 136/11) against him.

Meanwhile, the same court sentenced another man to seven years in prison.

The man — Abdul Hameed — had received money from Iftikhar but did not send him to Malaysia.

The anti-human trafficking cell of the FIA arrested the accused under the Emigration Ordinance.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs300,000 and in case of non-payment the accused would have to suffer an additional two-year imprisonment.