Lahore/Karachi, March 19 At least four people, including a woman, were arrested in Karachi city of Sindh province for attempting to transport 33 women to Dubai for prostitution, Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said on Thursday.
The FIA said the arrests were made after it raided a hotel in the Sadar area following a tip-off.
The suspects, who were part of a sex trafficking network, arranged the travel of 33 women to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a visit visa for prostitution, it said.
The agency said it also seized the passports of the 33 women.
"The FIA has also launched raids for the arrests of other members of the network," it said.
Meanwhile, the FIA repatriated a young woman from Punjab's Toba Tek Singh (about 200 kilometres from Lahore) who had fallen victim to sex trafficking in Oman.
The FIA has registered a case under the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act 2018 against the suspects.
Trafficking networks often transport Pakistani women to Dubai for forced prostitution by luring them with false promises of legitimate employment.