LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Thursday raided an illegal visa consultancy and arrested a suspect, recovering over a dozen passports from his possession.

According to the FIA officials, they received a tip-off that the suspect was running an illegal visa consultancy – US Educational Consultant – at Mumtaz Market, GT Road, Gujranwala, offering fake study/work visa services without any valid licence.

An FIA team, led by Tahir Kohli, conducted a raid on the premises and arrested a suspect, identified as Usman.

The FIA recovered 14 passports and relevant documents, along with an agreement, showing that the suspect struck a deal, allegedly charging Rs5.3 million per person for Japan work visas.

Preliminary inquiry revealed that the suspect, along with his accomplices, was involved in illegal visa processing, fake documentation and extortion of money from applicants.

A case has been registered against the suspects under sections 17/22 of the Emigration Ordinance 1979, six of the Passport Act 1974 and 420/468/471 of the PPC.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2026