The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) offloaded three female ‘beggars’ travelling to Saudi Arabia in the disguise of Umrah pilgrims at Karachi airport.
According to the FIA spokesperson, females were arrested by FIA Immigration upon checking at the Karachi airport.
During the checking, the FIA team found that the females did not have return tickets and hotel booking while travelling to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.
The arrested ‘beggars’ were handed over to the FIA Anti-Smuggling Circle for probe.
Other cases
Earlier, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) offloaded 24 alleged beggars in the disguise of Umrah pilgrims from Saudi Arabia-bound flight at Multan airport.
The FIA officials during the immigration process questioned the passengers who confessed that they were going to visit the KSA to seek alms.
The arrests came after the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development disclosed to the Senate Committee on Overseas Pakistanis that a significant proportion of beggars are trafficked abroad through illegal channels.
A similiar happened earlier when a woman returning from Saudi Arabia was arrested at the airport for allegedly begging while pretending to perform Umrah.
The suspect, identified as Gul Shana, admitted to earning an average of 100 Saudi riyals daily through begging during her stay in the Kingdom, according to an FIA spokesperson. Authorities noted that she lacked knowledge of basic Umrah rituals, raising suspicion about her activities.
