GUJRAT: Four human traffickers have been convicted in two different cases of Libyan boat tragedy of June 2023 and awarded rigorous imprisonment (RI) along with a hefty fine by the court of Gujranwala special judge central on Tuesday.

In the case, convicts Muhammad Sarwar Sindhi and Muhammad Rauf extorted Rs2.2 million from the complainant to send his two sons to Italy for employment. However, they sent the victims to Libya, where Akash Ali was reportedly tortured and his brother was still missing.

The judge awarded the convicts 22-year RI and imposed a fine of Rs1.4 million under different sections.

In another verdict by the same court, two other convicts were also awarded five-year RI and Rs100,000 fine.

Bilal Hassan and Tariq Mahmood were convicted in a case of human trafficking lodged with the Gujranwala FIA circle.

ARRESTS: In a major crackdown against agent mafia, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Gujranwala Zone claims to have arrested five suspects, including four agents and an official of the Sialkot Protectorate office for fleecing applicants.

A senior FIA official toldDawnthat an FIA team raided the Sialkot Protectorate office and arrested agents identified as Khizar Anwar, Shamas, Samran and Bilal along with official Zeeshan Ashraf of Ahmed Yar Block of Mustafa Town, Lahore.

Zeeshan had been serving as the protectorate immigration inspector at the Sialkot office, he added.

He claimed the raid was conducted based on a complaint and the agents were arrested accepting bribes for obtaining a visa protector, while the employees allegedly misused their authority by applying a protector stamp on the complainant’s tourist visa.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2026