Human traffickers smuggle 22 people to Japan as football players

Human traffickers have adopted a new tactic following stricter controls on land routes.

According to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), a fake football team comprising 22 people managed to travel from Sialkot Airport to Japan.

The FIA said that when the documents were found to be forged, Japanese authorities deported all the individuals involved. The main suspect, Malik Waqas, has been arrested in connection with the scam.

An FIR has also been registered at the FIA Gujranwala police station.

According to the FIA, all 22 individuals had been trained to pose as football players. The accused charged each person Rs. 4 million.

The FIA added that the suspect created fake registration documents of a football federation, fabricated schedules of football matches in Japan, and even prepared counterfeit documents from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Using these forged documents, the group flew out of Sialkot Airport but was caught upon arrival at a Japanese airport.

During interrogation, the arrested suspect confessed to sending another fake football team of 17 people to Japan in January 2024 using the same method.