The Federal Investigation Agency’s immigration wing has arrested a passenger arriving from Cambodia at Jinnah International Airport, exposing a migrant smuggling and international fraud network with links to Southeast Asia.
According to a statement issued by the FIA, the suspect was taken into custody during a major operation at the airport.
Initial investigations revealed that the suspect was involved in organised migrant smuggling and online fraud activities operating out of Cambodia.
The FIA said the suspect had travelled from Pakistan to Cambodia in September 2024, where he worked for an online fraud company. “He later began recruiting individuals from Pakistan as agents, allegedly facilitating their movement to Cambodia under false pretences,” the statement said.
During forensic analysis of the suspect’s mobile phone, investigators recovered passport photographs of several individuals, payment receipts and records of financial transactions.
The agency said the suspect received money through personal bank accounts as well as cryptocurrency accounts, indicating the use of multiple channels to move illicit funds.
The FIA said the suspect has been handed over to its anti-smuggling circle in Karachi for further legal proceedings.
“Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network and potential victims,” the statement said.
In January, more than 30 officers of the FIA were booked and dismissed from service over their alleged collusion with human smugglers in sending Pakistanis abroad illegally.
The FIA began the purge following the capsizing of a boat carrying illegal immigrants near Greece in December last year. According to estimates, more than 80 Pakistanis drowned in the accident, and 36 were rescued. The remaining were presumed dead.
In response to the tragedy, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ordered the authorities to take action against the human smugglers and officials aiding them. Since then, a countrywide crackdown has been launched against human smugglers, leading to the arrests of dozens of suspects.
Consequently, FIA Lahore arrested 177 human smugglers in the following months. Statistics from the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM), 2.5 million people are smuggled across the globe annually.