GUJRAT: Aimed at curbing the menace of illegal migration, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in collaboration with the Migration Resource Centre (MRC) organised a community outreach session in a rural area near Khanky Headworks in Wazirabad district.

FIA’s Gujranwala Zone Director Abdul Qadir Qamar was the chief guest at the event whereas other officials of FIA and MRC were also present.

The session participants were informed about the dangers of illegal migration and the available pathways for legal migration.

Speaking to the participants, Mr Qadir listed severe challenges faced by individuals who opt for illegal migration.

He also shared harrowing accounts of people being kidnapped by human smugglers, often resulting in their families being forced to pay ransom for their release.

Community outreach session in rural area

The session was well-received by participants, marking a significant step towards raising awareness about safe migration practices.

Scores of rural youth attended the session where they were also given pamphlets about the dangers of illegal migration and human trafficking.

The rural youth of Gujrat, Gujranwala, Wazirabad, Sialkot and Mandi Bahauddin have been the potential clients of human traffickers in the region.

An FIA official said that such awareness events with the help of International Centre for Migration Policy Development ICMPD have been a regular feature in connection with the efforts to get rid of the human trafficking and illegal migration from the region.

ARRESTED: The FIA claims to have arrested three members of a gang running an illegal currency exchange and global money transfer business from Kharian and Dinga towns of Gujrat district.

A spokesman for FIA said a bank official was also among the arrested suspects as a huge chunk of cash around Rs21.3 million was also recovered from them.

The arrested suspects were identified as Faisal Nadeem, Mujahid Saleem and Muhammad Usman.

He said the suspects had failed to give satisfactory answers to the raiding team of FIA as they had no such licence to run the business.

The suspects were reportedly connected to an international network of illegal money exchange as other accomplices were operating the system from abroad

The FIA has also recovered phone sims and ATM cards from the arrested suspects.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2024