LAHORE: The FIA on Thursday launched a crackdown on passport agent mafia and arrested seven suspects.

An FIA anti-human trafficking circle raided the Garden Town Passport Office and arrested seven agents for illegally charging citizens for passport-related services.

Those arrested have been identified as Kamran, Allah Ditta, Sufiyan, Ali Raza, Asif, Ikram and Muhammad Asif.

`The suspects lured citizens with promises of expedited passport processing and extorted additional money from them,` the FIA said and added the authorities recovered tokens, bank challans, receipts, and other evidence from the suspects.

`Raids are also being conducted to apprehend other suspects,` it said.

A probe into the possible involvement of passport office employees has also been launched. Staff Reporter