LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Lahore arrested 177 human smugglers during the last three months.

“A total of 177 human traffickers including two high-profile individuals listed in the Red Book of most-wanted criminals have been arrested during the last three months,” a spokesperson said on Saturday.

He said the FIA Lahore zone registered 318 cases against individuals involved in human trafficking. “Challan reports for 168 of these cases have been submitted to the courts and convictions have been secured in 43 cases so far,” he said and added anti-money laundering proceedings were underway in 12 separate references against human traffickers.

He said the authorities had also confiscated over 33 kanals of land and froze bank accounts containing more than Rs10 million linked to the accused.

“The crackdown on human trafficking networks has been intensified. The officers deployed at all airports are under strict instructions to monitor and arrest agents involved in human trafficking. Those who play with innocent lives will be brought to justice,” FIA Lahore Director Sarfaraz Khan Virk said.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2025