ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities detained five citizens at Lahore airport after they were deported from Sharjah for attempting to travel to the United Kingdom on forged British visas, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said on Saturday.

The five men had initially traveled from Lahore to Malaysia earlier this year on visit visas, the agency said.

After their stay in Malaysia, it added, they allegedly tried to fly onward to the UK from Sharjah using counterfeit documents obtained through agents.

“Five Pakistani passengers were deported from Sharjah for possessing fake British visas,” the FIA said in its statement. “Upon arrival at Lahore airport, the deported passengers were taken into custody.”

Pakistan has tightened its crackdown on illegal immigration and human smuggling in recent years after a series of deadly boat tragedies involving its citizens attempting to reach Europe.

In July, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government was targeting organized criminal networks and urging the public to use safe and legal pathways for overseas employment.

He said the state was expanding job opportunities at home and abroad but warned that irregular migration routes were dangerous and violated national and international law.

The FIA said all five men had been transferred to the Anti-Human Smuggling Circle in Lahore for further investigation.

According to its statement, the forged travel documents were acquired with the assistance of intermediaries, leading authorities in the United Arab Emirates to deny them entry and deport them to Pakistan.

The FIA said the inquiry into the visa fraud and the agents involved was ongoing.