In a series of decisive operations targeting fraud and organised crime, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Karachi has intensified its efforts against document forgery, human smuggling and related illegal activities.
In separate actions, immigration authorities offloaded a family allegedly involved in ‘Khep’ smuggling while attempting to travel under the cover of an Umrah visa. In another operation, a passenger was offloaded for allegedly obtaining a UK study visa using a fake degree from the University of Central Punjab. Additionally, a network involved in issuing fraudulent medical fitness certificates to Gulf job seekers was dismantled, and a suspect was arrested in a copyright infringement case during a raid at Boulton Market.
According to officials, the immigration authorities offloaded a family travelling to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after they were found to be involved in ‘Khep’ smuggling, using an Umrah visa as a cover.
The passengers, comprising men, women and children, were travelling on the Pakistani passports with an Umrah visa for Saudi Arabia and an Emirates ID for the UAE. The offloaded passengers included Mehmooda, wife of Ashraf, her three sons Shahzaib, Sameer and Atif Hussain, Shahzaib’s wife Rabia and a daughter Rumeha Fatima, and another person Shakeel, son of Khalil Ahmed. During questioning, they failed to provide essential travel documents, including paid hotel reservations and proof of sufficient financial means required for performing Umrah.
Further investigations revealed that the family was involved in the illicit business of ‘Khep’, which entails transporting prohibited and restricted commercial goods for financial gain. The passengers admitted to misusing the Umrah visa to carry out the illegal activity. The authorities seized 75 bundles of cigarettes and 45 packets of tobacco brand from their possession.
Similarly, a passenger identified as Zeeshan Shafqat was offloaded after it was discovered that he had allegedly obtained a United Kingdom study visa on the basis of fake documents, including a suspicious degree from the University of Central Punjab (UCP).
According to officials, the passenger was travelling on a Pakistani passport with a valid UK study visa. During immigration clearance, he was stopped on suspicion and referred for further scrutiny. During the questioning, Shafqat presented a UCP degree and transcript bearing number 142727, which were found to be forged during initial verification.
He later confessed that he had never studied at the university and had acquired the fake documents through the Zaitoon Education Consultants in exchange for Rs400,000.
WhatsApp chat records further revealed that for visa processing and a subsequent plan to travel illegally to Romania, he had contacted facilitators identified as ‘Ready to Fly’ and ‘Its Mani’. The communications allegedly included plans to use the ‘Dunki route’ for illegal migration.
Officials said the available evidence pointed to suspected document forgery, financial fraud and facilitation of human smuggling, necessitating further investigation.
Two key members of an organised group involved in issuing fake medical fitness certificates to individuals seeking employment in Gulf countries were arrested during a raid conducted by the FIA in the Nursery area of Sharea Faisal.
The arrested suspects, identified as Munir and Ahsan Raza, were allegedly charging between Rs200,000 and Rs250,000 per person. They were found manipulating medical records of Wafid (GAMCA), deleting records of candidates previously declared “unfit” and fraudulently arranging issuance of fresh medical fitness certificates. During the raid, three passports not belonging to the accused were also recovered from their possession.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the network included medical centre staff, travel agents and multiple facilitators who were collectively operating the illegal scheme in an organised manner.
In another operation, the FIA conducted a raid at Yousuf Plaza, Boulton Market against individuals involved in the alleged copyright infringement of M/s Beauty Icon International. During the operation, a suspect identified as Akbar Ayub was arrested on the spot.
Officials also recovered 90 packets of counterfeit products allegedly belonging to the complainant company. The arrested suspect and the seized goods were shifted to the FIA Corporate Crime Circle Karachi for registration of a case.
FIA Karachi Zone Director Muntazir Mehdi commended the FIA teams for their professionalism and timely action.
