The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Immigration foiled an attempt by a passenger to travel to Canada on a forged visa at Allama Iqbal International Airport, on Sunday. According to an FIA spokesperson, passenger Ikram Ali was offloaded during immigration clearance after officials found that the Canadian visit visa affixed to his passport was fake.
During preliminary questioning, the passenger disclosed that he had obtained the forged visa from an agent identified as Abid Ali. He told investigators that he had agreed to pay the agent Rs9.8 million for arranging his travel to Canada. The passenger said he had already paid Rs4.04 million to the agent, while the remaining Rs 5.76 million and two guarantee cheques had been kept with a guarantor and were to be released after his arrival in Canada.
The passenger was handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Lahore, for further legal proceedings, while efforts are underway to trace and arrest the suspected agent.