Begging Racket Busted at Karachi Airport; Network Operated from Canada, FIA Reveals

Karachi: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Immigration has uncovered a major organized begging network operating in Saudi Arabia, arresting two individuals at Karachi Airport in a significant crackdown.

According to FIA officials, the suspects—identified as Muhammad Jameel and Guria Bibi, residents of Faisalabad—were detained upon arrival from Saudi Arabia after being flagged as suspicious during clearance. During initial interrogation, they admitted that they had traveled on Umrah visas through an agent named Kashmir Ali from Jhelum, not for religious purposes but to engage in begging.

Investigations revealed that the group operated in a highly organized manner, collecting large sums of money through begging in Saudi Arabia and then transferring the funds via illegal hawala/hundi channels to an agent based in Canada.

The suspects also disclosed the name of a key facilitator, Iftikhar alias “Wakeel,” who is believed to specialize in sending individuals abroad for begging activities.

FIA recovered bank account details, mobile phones, transaction receipts, and voice notes from the suspects, providing strong evidence of the network’s operations. The arrested individuals have been handed over to the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle (AHTC) Karachi for further investigation, as authorities continue efforts to identify and apprehend other members of the network.