ISLAMABAD, June 29: The Proclaimed Offenders Squad of the Passport Cell of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested three alleged human smugglers, sources told Dawn here on Wednesday. Syed Ghazanfar Ali Shah, a resident of Jhelum, Khalid Mehmood, a resident of Rawalpindi, and Mohammad Siddique, a resident of Hassanabdal, were arrested on charges of sending people abroad on fake documents and stolen passports.

Mr Shah, who also holds British nationality, was arrested from Rawat after a brief chase. He would charge Rs800,000 to send a person abroad.

The sources said at least 24 FIRs had been registered against him with different passport circles and cells, including four in Rawalpindi, on charges of human-trafficking.

They said soon after Mr Shah’s arrest, FIA officials started receiving calls from influential people seeking his release without any legal action.

According to the sources, Khalid Mehmood was arrested from Afandi Colony in Rawalpindi. During the raid, Mr Mehmood also injured a constable by hitting him with his vehicle.

Three FIRs have been registered against him on the charge of human smuggling. Mr Mehmood claims to be the editor of a newspaper and his brother is a senior official in an intelligence agency.

Another alleged human smuggler, Mr Siddique, was arrested from Hassanabdal.