The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested the prime suspect in last year’s Greece boat tragedy, in which at least 40 Pakistanis lost their lives, officials said.

In a statement, FIA Gujranwala Circle confirmed the arrest of Usman Jajja, a notorious human smuggler, from Sialkot following an operation conducted on the directives of the federal interior minister.

According to the agency’s spokesperson, Jajja had been on the run since the incident and was accused of orchestrating illegal boat journeys to Europe. “The suspect had received millions of rupees from victims under the pretense of facilitating their travel to Europe,” the statement said.

FIA crackdown on human traffickers

Jajja was wanted in more than eight cases by the FIA Composite Circle Gujranwala and is believed to be a key member of an international human smuggling network. Officials said he had been evading authorities since the Greece tragedy and had been hiding in Gilgit-Baltistan after securing bail in an unrelated case.

Authorities said further investigations were underway, and raids were being conducted to apprehend other suspects involved. “A nationwide crackdown is in place against human traffickers,” said FIA Gujranwala Zone Director Abdul Qadir Qamar, adding that no one would be allowed to play with innocent lives.

The arrest comes months after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered a countrywide operation against human smuggling networks and corrupt officials within the FIA who were allegedly aiding traffickers. The FIA has since dismissed 35 officials, while its former director general, Ahmad Ishaq Jahangir, was removed over delays in the investigation into illegal migration cases.

Greece boat tragedy

The ill-fated boat, which sank off the Greek coast on December 14, 2024, had departed from Libya’s Tobruk port with 175 irregular migrants, including a significant number of Pakistanis.

A report by the Pakistani Embassy in Athens confirmed that at least 40 Pakistani nationals lost their lives in the tragedy. The embassy said three separate vessels had capsized in Greek territorial waters, with a majority of the victims hailing from Pakistan.

The report detailed that one of the boats carried 83 people, including 76 Pakistanis, three Bangladeshis, two Egyptians, and two Sudanese nationals. Of the 39 survivors rescued from this vessel, 36 were Pakistanis.

The Greece tragedy was not an isolated case. In January 2025, a boat carrying irregular migrants from Mauritania to Spain capsized, resulting in the deaths of at least 50 people, including 44 Pakistanis. While 36 Pakistanis were rescued, others remain missing and are presumed dead.

Despite such tragedies, illegal migration continues to lure many due to economic hardship and the promise of a better life abroad. Authorities have intensified their efforts to curb human smuggling, while Lahore’s Jamia Naeemia has also issued a religious decree declaring illegal migration a violation of both state law and Shariah.