Human trafficking ring busted

SANTO DOMINGO, (AP):Authorities in the Dominican Republic said last Friday that they have arrested a citizen of Pakistan and six others accused of running a sophisticated migrant smuggling operation in the Caribbean country.

William Munoz Delgado, director of the National Department of Investigations, said the ring smuggled people from Pakistan and the Dominican Republic to the United States and Canada through the Caribbean country.

He identified the leader of the group as a Pakistani national, Mehmood Majeed Khan. Among those detained was an employee of the Dominican civil registry whom Munoz said helped members of the organisation obtain counterfeit documents.

The arrests follow a series of raids in three cities, led by the department's anti-terrorism unit.

Authorities confiscated fraudulent identification and other documents during the raid and said additional suspects are being sought.

Munoz said the investigation is ongoing, and that officials are trying to determine how many migrants were trafficked.