Pak FIA arrests four suspects in London Olympics 'passport scam'

Lahore, July 24 (ANI): The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested four suspects believed to have been involved in a fake passport scam carried out by a Lahore-based politician and other officials.

British tabloid, The Sun, had claimed to have unearthed a scam, involving a "Lahore-based politician" and other officials, wherein Pakistani nationals were brought into England under the garb of participants and officials accompanying the Pakistani Olympics delegation for the summer 2012 games - set to start on Friday, reports The Express Tribune.

One of the suspects is a National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) official, while the remaining three are passports agents. The four arrested men will be investigated by the agency.

Several raiding teams of the FIA have been constituted and further raids are expected. A team of senior NADRA officials has also arrived in Lahore to facilitate the investigations.

According to an exclusive report of a sting operation published in The Sun, a journalist allegedly broke into "a crime ring offering false passports, visas - and access to London 2012 as bogus support staff."

The Sun had alleged that Lahore-based politician Abid Chaudhry offered its undercover reporter in Pakistan the chance to go to the Olympics posing as an official member of the Pakistani contingent on a two-month visa in return for a million rupees. (ANI)