Pakistan: FIA arrests two more human smugglers in Greece boat tragedy case

Punjab [Pakistan], June 29 (ANI): After days of the Greece boat tragedy case, Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) has arrested two more human smugglers in connection with the Greece Boat incident, according to ARY News.

Tariq Masood, Deputy Director of FIA said that they have arrested two agents in Mandi Bahauddin who sent five people to Greece and charged Rs 2.2 million from them.
The smugglers have been identified as Mauzam Riaz and Adnan Anwar, as per ARY News.

So far, 16 human smugglers have been arrested in relation to the Greece Boat tragedy, the official added.

The FIA has registered human smuggling and money laundering cases against Riaz and Anwar and further investigation is ongoing, reported ARY News.

Earlier, FIA Deputy Director Masood said that human traffickers residing in foreign countries would be bought to Pakistan via Interpol.

While briefing the media on the progress of the probe after the Greece boat tragedy, Masood said that 150 Pakistanis are missing in the incident. Out of 150 missing nationals, 115 belong to Gujrat, 30 from Mandi Bahauddin and one each from Hafizabad and Wazirabad, according to ARY News.

He further mentioned that 11 human traffickers have been arrested and money laundering cases were lodged against them. Overall, 31 cases have been lodged against the suspects, he added.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Friday said in a statement in the National Assembly that there were at least 350 Pakistanis on an overloaded boat that capsized and sank in open seas off Greece on June 14. He further added that 82 bodies aboard the boat have been so far recovered, ARY News reported.

As many as 750 men, women and children – also from Syria, Egypt, and the Palestinian territories – were on board the vessel, trying to reach relatives in Europe. The sinking was one of the worst disasters of its kind this year. The Greek coast guard has defended its response to the tragedy, according to Al Jazeera.