Secret ‘Stamp Laboratory’ Uncovered in Karachi; Suspects Charged Clients Up to Rs150,000 Per Passport
KARACHI – In a landmark operation that has dismantled a sophisticated international forgery network, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested key members of a gang responsible for fabricating fake travel histories for more than 40 countries. The investigation, spearheaded by the FIA’s Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, began after two passengers bound for South Korea were offloaded at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport due to suspicious travel records. This initial lead prompted a series of raids that culminated in the discovery of a fully operational “stamp laboratory,” equipped with advanced tools used to forge entry and exit stamps from dozens of nations.
During subsequent raids, the FIA arrested the primary suspects, Muhammad Aslam and Asif-ur-Rehman. Authorities recovered around 100 Pakistani passports, along with one Afghan and one Indian passport. More alarmingly, officials seized counterfeit immigration stamps from approximately 40 countries, fake consular seals, and forged visa stickers. According to Deputy Director Muhammad Ajmal Mian, this highly organized network functioned like a coordinated supply chain, with members assigned specialized roles. Some operatives were responsible for erasing previous visa refusals, while others manufactured imitation stamps for countries such as South Africa, India, Bahrain, and Dubai.
Further investigations revealed that the suspects charged between Rs100,000 and Rs150,000 per passport to create fabricated travel histories and provide fraudulent documentation, deceiving both immigration authorities and their own clients. The network reportedly collected passports from clients, crafted complete fake travel histories, and then used them to facilitate illegal overseas migration. The gang was also preparing a fake passport for an Indian woman residing in Canada to support an asylum application using fabricated travel records. Suspect Muhammad Aslam admitted to being involved in such activities for nearly three and a half years, receiving passports and case files through different facilitators in Lahore and Karachi.
The FIA has registered cases against the suspects under the Prevention of Smuggling of Migrants Act 2018 and other relevant laws. Officials have emphasized that raids are ongoing to arrest additional members of the network, and the scope of the investigation has been expanded to identify potential collaborators within government agencies.
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