From News Dispatches

A major human trafficking operation has been exposed after 22 men posing as footballers were caught attempting to enter Japan with forged documents. The group, who had departed from Sialkot, was deported upon arrival when Japanese authorities discovered irregularities in their paperwork.

Investigations by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) revealed that the men were trained to impersonate professional players and carried counterfeit registrations and letters of approval. At the center of the scheme is Malik Waqas, who allegedly created a fake football club named Golden Football Trial to facilitate the operation. Officials stated that Waqas charged each participant around PKR 4 million, promising them entry into Japan under the guise of sports.

Waqas was arrested on September 15 by the FIA’s Composite Circle. During interrogation, he confessed to organizing a similar operation in January 2024, when 17 men traveled to Japan with falsified football credentials and never returned. Authorities believe that the documents used in both attempts included forged Pakistan Football Federation registrations and counterfeit no-objection certificates from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The scam highlights how traffickers exploit the credibility of sports exchanges to mask illegal migration. According to investigators, forged invitations from football clubs and official-looking approvals lowered scrutiny during the visa process, making such schemes harder to detect.

Pakistan has intensified its crackdown on illegal immigration since November 2023, with a particular focus on undocumented Afghan nationals. 

The FIA continues to investigate the extent of Waqas’s network, which reflects the growing black market in fraudulent athlete visas and migration scams.