LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Lahore Zone, on Tuesday arrested a key suspect allegedly involved in a visa fraud case linked to Karigar Trade Centre.

According to an FIA spokesman, the arrested suspect was identified as Syed Ishtiaq Hussain, who was allegedly involved in human smuggling and defrauding people after luring them on the pretext of securing overseas work visas for them.

He says that the suspect, along with his accomplices, extorted hundreds of thousands of rupees from his victims on the pretext of arranging employment abroad.

The case was being investigated by the FIA’s Anti-Human Smuggling Circle, Lahore, where multiple inquiries against the suspect were already in process, says the spokesman.

The suspect has been taken into custody and further investigation has been initiated, while raids are being conducted to arrest other accomplices, he adds.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2026