The immigration cell of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested the three Afghans Khairullah, young Afghan woman Fauzia and 9-year-old Torang when they were trying to board Jeddah-bound Saudi Airline flight SV-795 at 12pm on Saturday.
The immigration authorities also nabbed another Afghan Baryalay on the airport premises as he was trying to facilitate the journey. But later the interrogators found him to be a member of an international gang of human traffickers.
Khairullah, an ethnic Uzbek from the northern Afghanistan, who is living in the refugee camp in Haripur district, told Dawn at the FIA office that he was issued a visa for Umra by the Saudi authorities in Jeddah.
But Khairullah later endorsed the names of Fauzia and Torang in the passport and visa documents showing them his wife and son respectably, said Inspector Shaukat Ali, who was given the responsibility to interrogate the accused.
The official alleged that Khairullah was a courier and also member of the international human traffickers’ gang.
“I have paid Rs115,000 to one Habibullah, at his office in Kabul,” said Khairullah. “Today I got the passport from Baryalay, who told me that Fauzia and Torang will also be going with me on the same passport,” he claimed.
Fauzia, a divorcee from the northern Afghanistan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, claimed that she had a family in Jeddah and planned to go there on Umra visa. She said that she had paid $1,300 to an Arab travel agency having office in Kabul.
The boy Torag told this correspondent that he had no idea what happed. “My father is working in Saudi Arabia and my relatives arranged my visit to Jeddah,” he said.
Assistant Director immigration Inam Ullah Khan Gandapur said that Baryalay and Khairullah were members of the Afghan human traffickers’ gang and other members involved in the business would be arrested after the completion of their interrogation.
Inspector Shaukat Ali and Sub-Inspector Fazle Akbar, officials of the anti-trafficking unit of FIA, have started investigation in the case.