LAHORE/GUJRAT: The Fed­­­eral Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested two people on Sunday, including a suspected human trafficker, for allegedly smuggling Pakistani nationals onto a migrant vessel, which capsized off the coast of Greece on Dec 14.

At least five people drowned after a wooden boat, carrying many Pakistanis, capsized off Greece’s southern island of Gavdos, the coastguard said, with witnesses saying many were still missing as search operations continued. The number of Pakistanis killed in the accident rose to four on Dec 16, the Foreign Office said, additionally confirming that there were 47 Pakistani survivors.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed authorities to take strict action against human trafficking and ordered the immediate implementation of the Integrated Border Management System to monitor international travellers.

“The recurrence of such incidents is due to the sluggish actions against the people involved,” he added.

The FIA booked four alleged human traffickers and reportedly detained two suspects from separate areas of Punjab.

Key operative of international gang held during raid in Gujranwala

According to a press release, Director General FIA Ahmed Ishaq Jahangir ordered a crackdown against elements invo­lved in the Greece boat accident.

A FIA spokesman said the alleged trafficker, Mohammad Aslam of Werokey village near Wazirabad city, had been arrested during a raid. “The suspect [Aslam] is an operative of an international gang involved in human smuggling,” the FIA alleged in the press release. “The suspect extorted Rs8.5 million from the victims.”

According to the release, Asl­am allegedly sent people to Libya with the help of accomplices, before attempting to send them from Libya to Greece by boat.

“The suspect was arrested from Gujranwala using modern technology,” the FIA said.

In a separate operation, the FIA arrested another human trafficker, Saeed Ahmed, from Dittewal village near Gujrat for being involved in illegal human trafficking. A case was lodged against him with FIA Gujrat circle nearly a month ago.

This suspect would allegedly produce false travel documents in exchange for “large sums of money”, the agency said.

The director of FIA’s Gujranwala Zone, Abdul Qadir Qamar, said the crackdown against those involved in the Greek shipwreck remains ongoing and that “all resources are being utilised to arrest the accused”.

He added that if there was strong evidence, the accused could receive the death penalty.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2024