TOBA TEK SINGH: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Faisalabad zone claimed to have arrested a man and his son who are alleged members of an international human trafficking network operating from Cambodia, Thailand and Burma.

A press release says on Sunday that FIA police station in charge Ajmal Hussain conducted a raid on a premises in Madina Town, Faisalabad and arrested two suspects -- Shahid Hameed and his son Muhammad Ahmed -- who were allegedly involved in human trafficking on a large scale.

It says that the father-son duo would lure people by promising them jobs abroad.

According to initial FIA investigations, the network would first transport Pakistani citizens to Thailand and later take them to Burma and Cambodia, where they were handed over to international agents, who subjected the victims to forced labour and torture.

The press release adds that the suspects received US$6,000 from a victim, Fahim, for sending him to Thailand, besides extorting another Rs1.8 million from him for arranging his travel back to Pakistan, after he got trapped abroad.

During the raid, two mobile phones (iPhone 17 Pro Max and Vivo 1901) were recovered from the suspects, which contained copies of passports of Pakistani and foreign citizens, visa documents, videos and important evidence related to human trafficking through WhatsApp groups.

The FIA has registered a case against the suspects under sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act and started investigation.

The press release also mentions the role of other suspects, including the network’s agents in Cambodia, Saroop Fatima and Seth Faizan, besides travel agents Omar and Tabish, in the scam.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2026