One suspect had been wanted since 2023 for taking Rs2.7m from a man promised an Italian work visa; the other allegedly collected Rs4m for Dutch jobs, as Gujrat remains the heartland of Europe-bound migration.
LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency in Lahore has arrested two men from Gujrat accused of taking a combined Rs6.7 million from people they promised work visas for Italy and the Netherlands, the latest in a series of arrests targeting the visa fraud networks that feed on Pakistanis’ hopes of jobs in Europe.
The suspects, identified as Ghulam Abbas and Chaudhry Adnan Akram Virk, were picked up from different areas of Gujrat district, an FIA spokesperson said. An investigation has been opened against both.
Ghulam Abbas is accused of taking Rs2.7 million from a citizen on the promise of an Italian work visa. He had been wanted by FIA Lahore since 2023, the spokesperson said, suggesting the victim waited about three years for an arrest.
Adnan Akram Virk allegedly collected Rs4 million from several people by promising them work visas for the Netherlands. The FIA did not say how many victims were involved or whether any money had been recovered.
Gujrat, along with neighbouring Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot and Gujranwala, has for decades sent more young men to Europe than almost any other part of Pakistan, many through irregular routes. Remittances have built houses and businesses across the district, and the pull of that success keeps demand for European jobs high.
That demand has also made the region a target for fraudsters and smugglers. Pakistanis, many from central Punjab, were among the hundreds feared dead when an overcrowded fishing boat sank off Greece in June 2023, a disaster that prompted a nationwide crackdown on human smuggling.
Italy has become one of the most common promises. The country runs annual quotas for non-EU seasonal and work-permit labour, and agents in Punjab routinely charge millions of rupees for visas they cannot deliver. In August, the FIA arrested a gang posing as the Italian embassy in Rawalpindi.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi ordered action against the entire human smuggling chain in August, and the FIA arrested 10 people in a nationwide visa fraud crackdown the following month. In October, the agency intercepted 16 migrants on the Iran route and stepped up checks on outbound passengers at airports.
Officials advise anyone offered an overseas job to use only licensed overseas employment promoters registered with the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, to verify job offers directly with the embassy or the employer, and never to pay large sums in cash or to private accounts before a visa is issued. Visa fraud and human smuggling can be reported to the FIA.
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