The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of Pakistan has detained a suspected human trafficking agent. This is a big step forward in the fight against a group that was using a fake football team to smuggle individuals abroad illegally. Officials arrested Waqas Ali on September 15 in Sialkot, a city noted for its lively sports goods industry. After a long investigation into two different fake “sports tours” to Japan, the arrest was made.
A high-ranking FIA official said that Ali is the suspected architect behind a plan that got 17 people 15-day Japanese visit visas. The visa applications contained a false invitation letter from the Boavista Football Club, a fake registration letter from the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), and a fake No-Objection Certificate from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make the operation look real. These papers made the group look like a traveling team that had been given the green light by the government.
Authorities think this group flew to Japan on January 1, 2024, but never came back to Pakistan. They think this was an attempt to migrate illegally. The FIA’s investigation discovered that the human trafficking ring charged an outrageous cost of roughly ₹4–4.5 million per individual for this operation. This instance shows how the black market takes advantage of gaps in athletic and cultural exchange visa schemes to make money.
Waqas Ali’s detention is apparently connected to a similar, but unsuccessful, attempt that happened earlier this year. The FIA said that Ali had already been named in a case from June 2025 that included a different “football team” of 22 people who were also going to Japan. In one case, Japanese immigration officials were suspicious and sent the whole group back to their home country at the airport. This led to a full-scale FIA investigation.
Officials claimed the strategy worked because the official-looking documents and well-known football club branding made it less likely that people would be checked closely throughout the visa application and immigration processes. The agency is currently keeping an eye on the flow of money and checking the letters, stamps, and registrations used in these files to make sure they are real. They think that further arrests will be made.
The case shows a growing trend of illegal immigrants being sold as legitimate sports trips. The FIA is said to be working with the right national and international organizations to close these gaps. They have also warned the public and told aspiring athletes and their families to check the credentials of any sports tour before paying a lot of money.