Pakistan arrests ‘most wanted’ human trafficker linked with Greece shipwreck that killed hundreds

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Friday announced the arrest of a “most wanted” suspect in a shipwreck off Greece in June, which claimed hundreds of migrant lives.
On June 14, a weathered trawler foundered in the vicinity of Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula, with approximately 750 individuals from Pakistan, Egypt and Syria aboard who were bound for Italy from Libya. Only 104 of them were rescued.
Officials said more than 350 Pakistanis were among the passengers who were escaping challenging economic circumstances at home for a brighter future in Europe.
Following the tragedy, former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif had pledged to take decisive measures against human smugglers, prompting the FIA to initiate a campaign against the illicit operators.
“The most wanted human trafficker involved in the Greek boat accident has been arrested by the FIA’s Gujrat circle,” the anti-crime agency said in a statement.
The individual in question, Javed Hussain, had been sought by the FIA in connection with seven separate cases and was a key suspect in the Greek shipwreck, according to the statement. He was the “front man” of another most wanted human trafficker, Hamza Sunyara, who operates from Libya.
Hussain had evaded authorities and gone into hiding following the June 14 shipwreck.
“The suspect was running an international human trafficking network from Gujrat and was involved in illegally sending innocent citizens from Libya to Europe,” the FIA said. 
FIA teams conducted multiple raids and utilized the latest forensic techniques to successfully apprehend the suspect, according to the agency. An investigation into the matter was underway.