The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Immigration Unit at Faisalabad Airport foiled a major attempt to illegally travel abroad by offloading five passengers who posed as martial arts players to secure travel clearance.
The passengers, identified as Iqbal Murtaza, Abdul Wahab, Shahzeb Khan, Samiullah, and Muhammad Suleman, were attempting to board flight FZ392 to Russia. According to FIA, the individuals hailed from different parts of Lahore, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Nowshera, and Rawalpindi.
Investigations revealed that the passengers had no knowledge of martial arts and were traveling under the false pretense of participating in international martial arts competitions. Among them, two minors, Samiullah and Suleman, were fraudulently presented as athletes. FIA officials stated that the alleged head of the group, Iqbal Murtaza, could not produce any registration or invitation letter from Russia, while supposed trainers Shahzeb Khan and Abdul Wahab also lacked basic knowledge of the sport.
Following their offloading, the suspects were handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Faisalabad, which has registered a case against them. FIA confirmed that further investigations are underway to dismantle the network behind the scam.
According to the FIA spokesperson, the operation reflects the agency’s commitment to curbing human trafficking and preventing fraudulent attempts to misuse sports platforms for illegal travel.
