ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday arrested four people in two separate operations in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The FIA said it conducted a targeted operation outside the G-10 passport office against scammers allegedly charging citizens for “emergency” and “priority” passport services.

The main suspect was arrested at the scene. Officials said initial questioning revealed that he charged Rs20,000 per case to obtain passports on a priority basis, mainly for citizens from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, by using fake Islamabad addresses.

On his identification, two more suspects, were arrested.

Investigators said they had also established a money trail showing that the suspect allegedly received per-case payments through online accounts, directly linking him to the network.

A case was registered, and the three suspects were produced before a court, which granted the FIA a two-day physical remand.

The agency said the role of the official and others would be determined during the investigation.

In a separate operation, the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Rawalpindi, arrested a suspect in connection with an inquiry.

According to FIA officials, the suspect allegedly lured the complainant’s son, with the promise of a Russia work visa and collected Rs1.07 million through different bank accounts during 2023 and 2024.

The FIA said the suspect neither arranged the visa nor returned the money.

After he failed to join the inquiry, he was produced before a court, which granted his physical remand.

During the investigation, the FIA recovered the entire amount of Rs1.07 million from the suspect and returned it to the complainant.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2026