The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Immigration Unit conducted a series of operations at Karachi Airport, offloading seven passengers attempting to travel to Italy under the guise of visiting Azerbaijan.
The individuals identified as Adnan Zahoor, Usman Rafiq, Aftab Ahmed, Muhammad Aizaz, Imad Hussain, Mubashir Hussain and Ihtesham Elahi were intercepted before departure.
Initial inquiries revealed that the passengers had planned to travel from Baku to Dubai and Malaysia, then onward to Turkey and Libya. From there, they intended to reach Italy illegally via sea routes.
The investigation established that the travellers had paid agents between Rs 2 million and Rs 4.5 million each to facilitate their journey to Europe.
The detained individuals have been transferred to the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Karachi for further questioning.
