A Sialkot man pleaded guilty in a US court for leading an internatioinal human smuggling conspiracy that involved fake companies, fake visas and a 'dunki' route through Ecuador, Cuba, Colombia and then the US through the southern border. 49-year-old Abbas Ali Haider was extradited to the US from Mexico in July 2025 to face the charges here. After he pleaded guilty, he will be sentenced on July 30. Haider faces a minimum penalty of three years in prison and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
$40,000 to bring illegal Pakistanis to US
According to the court documents, Haider operated two fake film production companies -- Diamond TV World Productions and Multimedia Advertising Ltd. Both these fake companies were shown as Pakistan-based but using these companies, he brought Pakistani nationals illegally into the US. These people posed as staff of Haider's film companies traveling for film work. They were admitted to Latin American countries through fake visa but their end destination was US through the Mexican border.
"From approximately September 2019 through September 2023, Haider fraudulently obtained visas for Pakistani nationals to travel to Ecuador, Cuba and Colombia under the cover of legitimate business travel when their real destination was always the southern US border. Posing as employees of Haider’s fake companies traveling to work on films, the Pakistani nationals were admitted to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Haider’s network then guided them to the US-Mexico border where they illegally crossed into California, Texas, and Arizona. For this, Haider charged each person as much as $40,000," the Department of Justice said.
Sending illegal aliens to US sitting in Pakistan
Haider used his fake film companies to make contracts with film companies in Ecuador, Cuba and Colombia. He then had those companies sponsor visas for Pakistani nationals purporting to work for Haider’s companies under the guise that they were working on a joint filming project in Latin America. Haider provided the Pakistani nationals with phony paperwork indicating that they worked for his companies, which they used at ports of entry in Panama, Brazil, and Colombia. Haider coached the aliens to say they worked in the film industry to deceive and thwart customs and border officials. Haider’s network of smugglers then assisted the Pakistani nationals in traveling to the US-Mexico border, where they illegally crossed into California, Texas, and Arizona.
Haider travelled from Pakistan to Mexico in late 2024 and was arrested in Mexico in January 2025 at the request of the U.S. government.
