LAHORE/TOBA TEK SINGH: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested eight suspects for visa fraud, human smuggling and copyrights violations in separate operations in Lahore, Sialkot, Multan and Faisalabad.

According to the FIA spokesperson, suspects Abbas Salheri, Liaqat Ali and Muhammad Asif Butt have been arrested from different areas of Lahore and Sialkot.

Suspect Abbas Salheri allegedly extorted Rs4.6 million from a citizen on the pretext of arranging a Turkish work visa.

Suspect Liaqat Ali allegedly collected Rs3.1m from a citizen by promising a Canadian work visa while Asif Butt allegedly defrauded a citizen of Rs200,000 on the pretext of arranging a Malaysian work visa. Butt was wanted by FIA Lahore since 2014.

The FIA Corporate Crime Circle arrested three suspects – Imran Khan, Naveed and Muhammad Ahmad - for violating the Copyright Act.

The suspects were arrested during a raid conducted in Shah Alam Market, Lahore.

A large quantity of fake products of well-known registered companies was recovered from their possession.

The suspects were found involved in manufacturing, stocking, and selling counterfeit products of registered companies.

In Multan, the FIA arrested an alleged human smuggler from Lodhran for allegedly defrauding a citizen of Rs450,000 by promising to arrange an overseas employment visa.

The Anti-Human Trafficking Circle (AHTC) Multan conducted a raid under the supervision of Deputy Director Hammadur Rahman and arrested proclaimed offender Azhar Iqbal in connection with FIR No. 111/2026.

The suspect was allegedly involved in human smuggling and had received Rs450,000 from the complainant for securing a foreign job visa but failed to provide the promised documents.

The FIA said the accused had been absconding and was wanted in the case. Further investigation is underway.

Separately, the FIA Composite Circle in Dera Ghazi Khan recovered Rs2.8m in another human trafficking-related case registered under FIR No. 109/2026 AHTC.

According to the spokesperson, the recovered amount was returned to the complainant.

Meanwhile, the FIA Faisalabad also arrested a suspect allegedly involved in human trafficking.

The arrested suspect was identified as Badar Munir Abbas, a resident of D-Type Iron Market, Faisalabad. During the investigation, officials recovered two Pakistani passports from his possession.

A case was registered against the suspect under Sections 17 and 22 of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979, along with Section 6 of the Passport Act, 1974.

Initial investigations revealed that the accused allegedly extorted Rs1.3m from a citizen, Shahzeb Ahmad, on the pretext of arranging a job in Scotland.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2026