At least 18 people — including 16 foreigners being sent illegally to Europe — were recovered late Monday night following an operation in the Radbeen area near Turbat, security forces sources revealed.
Of the recovered foreigners, 15 belong to Nigeria, while one hails from Yemen, the sources stated, adding they foreigners sought to illegally travel to Europe.
The security forces also arrested two armed suspects during the operation and recovered weapons.
Just a day prior, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had detained from Gujrat an alleged human smuggler — identified as Sohail Shakeel — in connection with the Turbat massacre wherein twenty people died.
Bodies recovered
Back on November 15, fifteen bodies — bearing bullet wounds — were found in Buleda locale near Turbat tehsil in Balochistan's Kech district. They were of people from different parts of Punjab, including Mandi Bahauddin, Gujranwala, Gujrat, and Sialkot.
Then, on November 17, five more bodies were found in Turbat — the same tehsil — albeit at the distance from the previous spot.
Authorities discovered that the deceased were en route to Europe through Iran for jobs.
The two heinous incidents prompted Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar to take a suo motu notice and seek from the FIA director-general and inspector-general of Balochistan detailed reports within three days.
Nisar also questioned the role the relevant authorities have decided to play in preventing such incidents.
Impersonating Irani national
Khalid Anis — the deputy director at the FIA — in a statement claimed that the arrested suspect was taken into custody on the charge of facilitating illegal movement to Germany via Turbat, during which five labourers were killed by the terrorists.
The official added that Humayun — the suspect’s Germany-based brother — helped run the human smuggling business in coordination with Sohail.
The FIA has disclosed that they had arrested another suspect — identified as Sadiq but known as Talib within the human smuggling network — from Quetta. He was apprehended after Waheed, another under-custody human smuggler, revealed details pertaining to him.
Anis explained that Sadiq's method comprised impersonating an Iranian national, who would then take people illegally from Quetta to Iran.
"The victims had stayed with Sadiq in Quetta," he said.
