The United States on Thursday announced a reward of $1 million for information leading to the arrest of Abid Ali Khan, a Pakistani national accused of leading a human smuggling network spanning several countries with the US as the final destination.

Abid Ali Khan was indicted by grand jury in April for human smuggling. The treasury department had also slapped sanctions on him at that time.

There is an additional reward of $1 million for information that could lead to financially disrupting Khan’s racket.

The 40-year-old Pakistani national is alleged to have “organised, led, and worked” with accomplices to have facilitated the travel of undocumented individuals to the United States between January 2015 and December 2020 in exchange for unspecified payments.

“Abid Ali Khan allegedly operates a Pakistani-based smuggling network that facilitates the travel of undocumented individuals into the United States from the Middle East and southwest Asia in exchange for payment,” the US state department said while announcing the reward.

It added that in addition to planning and coordinating international travel from Pakistan through multiple countries, Ali Khan also allegedly offered or provided false documents to foreign nationals to help them travel overseas.

Smuggling organisations such as Abid Ali Khan’s use routes that go through Central America and involve days of going through perilous conditions, sometimes without food and water. The end result is often not worth all the risk or the money paid to the smugglers – those caught are sent right back.

Indians are also known to have used these networks to reach United States, though it’s not clear if they were organised or led by Abid Ali Khan. Many of them seek asylum when caught, claiming persecution.