QUETTA: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Balochistan has arrested a man red-handed for extorting money from citizens under the pretence of issuing urgent passports, while five people involved in human trafficking were also apprehended in Taftan and Loralai.

A spokesperson for the FIA in Balochistan said on Sunday that the accused, Abdul Malik, was detained near the Chaman Passport Office while accepting extra payments from people in exchange for expedited passport services.

“Authorities recovered 13 Pakistani passports, 51 tokens, 48 data forms, nine verification forms and a mobile phone from the suspect during a raid,” the spokesperson added.

Malik failed to provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the recovered documents. Further investigation is underway.

In a separate operation, the FIA Balochistan Zone arrested five suspects allegedly involved in human trafficking and rescued four individuals.

The Anti-Human Trafficking Circle apprehended Rasool Bacha, Aminullah, Hashmat Ali, Talib Hussain and Ehsanullah, who were reportedly members of a gang facilitating illegal travel abroad using fake documents and charging millions of rupees.

“The group was sending people to Iran and Turkiye through illegal routes and fake documents,” the FIA spokesperson said.

“Three of the suspects — Rasool, Aminullah and Hashmat — were listed as most wanted by Pakistani embassies in Iran and Turkiye,” he said, adding that they had already sent large numbers of people abroad illegally. Talib and Ehsanullah were found to be involved in helping people cross the border unlawfully.

During the raid, four citizens were rescued from the suspects’ residence. The group was reportedly working for an agent named Faheem Gujar based in Iran. The FIA said investigations are underway and raids are being conducted to apprehend other members of the network.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2025