A shocking new human trafficking method has been exposed by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Traffickers created a fake football team and sent 22 individuals from Sialkot Airport to Japan using forged documents. Once in Japan, authorities discovered the deception and deported the entire group.
According to the FIA, the smugglers trained the men to pose as athletes. Each individual paid Rs 4 million to a trafficker named Malik Waqas, who has now been arrested. The agency has registered a case against him at the FIA Gujranwala police station.
The traffickers also forged football federation registration documents and created a fake match schedule in Japan. Additionally, they produced counterfeit papers claiming approval from Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The group flew out of Sialkot Airport disguised as a national football team.
The fraud came to light when Japanese airport authorities detected inconsistencies in the paperwork. The entire group was immediately deported back to Pakistan. The FIA confirmed the scam and launched a full investigation into the network behind the fake sports team.
During interrogation, the arrested suspect confessed that he had previously sent 17 people to Japan using the same fake team strategy in January 2024. The FIA is now working to identify more suspects and dismantle the network exploiting sports identities for illegal migration.