127 deportees return from Spain on special aircraft
14 December, 2007
LAHORE: Spanish immigration authorities brought 127 deportees in a special chartered plane to the Allama Iqbal International Airport on Thursday. Out of the 127 deportees, 113 were from Gujranwala and two each from Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Multan and Faisalabad. Remaining seven deportees were from other cities, immigration authorities at the airport said. As soon as the deportees arrived, they were handed over to the FIA’s Passport Cell of Gujranwala and other cities. Immigration officials claimed that during initial interrogation, majority of the deportees revealed that they went to Spain via Guinea, Mali and other neighbouring countries. According to those who had returned, hundreds of Pakistani youth who went to Conakry, the capital of Republic of Guinea, are still living a miserable life in the detention of human traffickers as the government of Guinea has refused to take any action against human traffickers. Nadeem, one of the deportees said agents charged around Rs 0.7 to Rs 0.8 million per person for taking them to Spain. He said traffickers took him and five of his friends to Guinea to send them to Spain, but after landing in Guinea, they were detained at a house instead of being sent to Spain. He said later more people were brought to the house and their number reached to around 200. He said the traffickers then rented two ships and all of the deportees were taken to Spain. He said when the ships reached Spain marine limits, the traffickers shifted all people to one ship and returned to Guinea on the other ship. He said the Spanish navel forced encircled the ship and kept them at sea for almost seven days. He said food ran out after five days and they passed two days in starvation. After seven days, Spanish authorities took them to port and then to a prison. End.
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