GUJRAT: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Gujrat circle claims to have arrested three more alleged human traffickers involved in sending some of those abroad illegally, who were among the victims of the boat tragedy off Greece coast last month.

A senior official of Gujrat FIA police station said the suspects – Nasir Iqbal and Razzaq Foji – were arrested in Mandi Bahauddin district, whereas the third – Tariq Mehmood – was arrested in Kharian town.

The official, seeking anonymity, said the suspects were agents who received a sum of Rs9.6 million from six persons who were feared dead in the boat tragedy, adding that they were wanted by the FIA in connection with the cases lodged by the victims’ families.

He said so far some 19 suspected agents had been arrested by Gujrat FIA circle, while many of the main human traffickers were either in Libya, Egypt or Dubai, adding that the process to arrest them through Interpol was underway.

Meanwhile, at least 25 cases have so far been lodged with the Gujrat FIA police station against different human traffickers.

According to sources in FIA and the complainants, around 200 of the boat tragedy victims belonged to Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin districts.

So far only 89 bodies of the victims could so far be retrieved from the sea, and their identification process was underway.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2023